The Secret Life of Castle and Beckett
by AleciaB
Summary: AU – return to the pilot episode. Imagine they did go to dinner to debrief and then kept their personal life a secret.
1. Chapter 1

**The secret life of Castle and Beckett.** _AU – return to the pilot episode. Imagine they did go to dinner to debrief and then kept their personal life a secret. This is just a fun story, something I was thinking about a while back._

 **File one. Flowers for her grave.**

"She hands the Tisdale guy over to the uniformed cops, then without any hesitation, strolls over towards me saying something like, _'Well, I guess this is it.'_ I was like, what? I replied with the fact it didn't have to be the end. We could go out, you know … so I asked her out for dinner, with some lame excuse like we could debrief each other on the case."

"Debrief? C'mon. And she said yes?"

"What? No." Rick shook his head. He took a gulp of scotch, swallowed then said, "She suggested she would just be another one of my conquests."

The Mayor laughed out loud, "She's right, Ricky. You're not exactly on page 6 of the Ledger for rescuing kittens out of trees."

"Ha! Good ol' days," he chuckled. "Yeah, well, besides that, this woman is something else."

"I like this woman already. She rejected you. Go on with your story."

"Ok. So, she believes I'm going to make her my conquest but I put countered that I could be one of her conquests. Let's face it, I don't know what her number is." He raised an eye brow, a questionable expression over his face.

"Her number?"

Rick's brow furrowed, "You know, how many men, or other women, that she's …." He waved his hand in a circle hoping the Mayor was keeping up.

"Oh, I see…"

"Good. Anyway, Beckett closed the conversation by stating it was nice to meet me. I gave it one more crack and said it was too bad that I thought we would have been great and we would be. I'm sure of that. I mean, keeping it between you and I, the chemistry between the detective and I is smoking hot, but I gotta be a gentleman. My mother didn't bring me up to be crude with women."

"Martha would still sit your ass on the ground if you were disrespectful. How is Martha?"

"Still searching for that elusive role on Broadway."

"I'm sure she is. So, the detective won't accept a date with you, the famous mystery writer," the Mayor concluded mainly to tease the writer who happened to be quite worked up about the detective.

"Yes, keep twisting the knife. She rejected me. But I insisted we would have been great. Then the detective," he paused recollecting the moment because he needed to give it justice when he described it to his friend, "She leaned right in, got very close to me then whispered in my ear, ' _You have no idea how great'_." He slapped his thigh, laughing then sat back in the office chair, saying, "That is going in a novel, sure as hell."

"So, did you get a date in the end?"

The writer shook his head. "Nope, she walked off down the alley towards her car. She swung the hips perfectly. And, just as she was about to turn on to the street, she did it."

"She did what?"

"She turned about. Not only did she look over her shoulder at me, she turned a one eighty, took two steps back and then continued into a three sixty. She likes me. I want her as my muse, my friend."

The Mayor chuckled at Rick's audacity but quickly sobered when he saw how serious his friend was.

"What do I have to do to get the opportunity to shadow her? I want to base my next novel on her, and in order to do that, I need to do research."

"Research. Is that what they call stalking nowadays?"

"I won't stalk her. I will simply be her shadow."

"Alright. There might be something I can do for you and this could be mutually beneficial. I will talk to the Captain of the Twelfth Precinct. He is also a friend of mine. But I know Montgomery and he is gonna want something."

"Tell him I will write a magazine article on being inside the NYPD, and then I will follow it up with a best selling mystery novel about a New York Detective. Female detective."

"Would be good for the NYPD's image." He put his empty glass down. "I'll see what I can do. Man, how hot was it her saying that in your ear."

Rick laughed wickedly. "It fuelled my fire, Sir. Inspired me."

A sharp tweet of a phone sounded from the back pocket of Rick's jean. "That'll be Alexis, wanting to know what we're doing for dinner. I'll have to get going."

"How is the young lady?"

"She's perfect, doing well in school. Growing. My old soul."

"It baffles me how she's your daughter, Rick."

"Take a number, Mayor. You're not the only one." Rick tipped the rest of his drink down his throat, stood up and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. "I've gotta run, feed my kid. Good so see you, and please let me know how you go with the Captain."

"Will do. I'll call him now." The mayor stood from his office chair and shook hands with the tall handsome writer. "Good to see you again, and let's make a date for a night of poker."

"Sure will. I will call my writer buddies and make a date. Monday or Tuesday night good with you?"

"Tuesday. Wife plays squash that night."

"Cool. Settled." Rick gave a wave goodbye over his shoulder as he walked from the office into the elevator foyer. He checked his phone expecting it to be his daughter saying she was hungry, after all it was almost 6.30 pm.

"And hello, it's not Alexis. It's Detective Beckett," he mumbled to himself as he stepped through the open door way of the elevator. He hit the G button, then slumped against the wall to read the text from the detective.

TBC

 _Reviews are very welcome and thank you to all of you who take the time to leave a message._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to those who make the effort to write the reviews. Love getting them and a little secret – I print them out and paste them in my diary so I can look back at them in years to come. Sincerely, thanks. All us wanna be writers like the feedback._

 _This is a smallish chapter. The next might be a little way away, but going forward I want to do bigger chunks. I haven't written a story like this before now so enjoy the ride with me._

 **Chapter 2**

Momentarily, Rick closed his eyes, prayed it would be a good text from the Detective. The elevator gave a tremor which caused him to open his eyes and check the console. The ride smoothed out. "Man up, Rick," he whispered, and tapped the screen of his phone, opening Kate's text. It read:

 _Hi Rick, I've changed my mind about your offer to go out for dinner. I'm free tonight, if you are. Kate._

Rick Castle couldn't help it. Alone, he fist pump the air, "Yes!"

He quickly scanned his earlier text to her, the one he had tapped out during the taxi ride to the Mayor's office. He'd hand written about a dozen drafts before he had chosen what he thought was the best message.

 _Ms Beckett, if you ever change your mind about that dinner, please call me. Always, Rick_.

He remained happy with that. Not too much. Kept it cool.

Earlier, after they caught Tisdale, when he had stood alone nearby the police units and he had witness the very attractive detective complete that circle, he'd became certain she desired him. The detective had been sending him crossed messages since the moment they had met. She plainly exhibited she hated him, well disliked him, but she physically showed him with little cues that she had it bad for him. She would have moments of curiosity and ask him personal stuff and then she would back off stating it was none of her business. Should he ask a personal question, she clammed up. But he saw through that façade, as he did with most women. He found Kate Beckett harder to read, and she was certainly mysterious. She despised him and she was attracted to him in the way that he wanted her to be. Sending the text a half hour later, was only done to encourage her to drop her guard even a fraction. It'd worked, maybe sooner than he'd anticipated but he had achieved success. He'd quickly established she was a fan of his novels, so he had to ensure she liked Rick, the man, more than Richard Castle, the author. Smalls advances and retreats were acceptable.

On the ground floor, he stepped out of the elevator and walked across the white marbled expansive foyer to the entrance of the council building. Outside, the last light of day was long gone and the streets were lit up with lights going in all directions. Rush hour was at its peak with people approaching the end of their work day. He momentarily wondered what it would be like to have a 9 to 5 job. He'd hate it. He hailed a taxi surprisingly fast. He gave his corner address to the driver of where he wanted to be let out then sat back on the seat to relax a minute, and to call his teenage daughter, Alexis.

She picked up second ring. "Hey Dad, where are you?"

"On the way home, Sweetie. Did you have a good day?"

"Yep, nothing special though? You?"

"Best day in a while, Honey. I'll tell you about it later. What are you and Gran up to tonight?"

"I'm studying and Gran is going to watch a program."

"Are you ok if I go out with some friends for a while?"

"Sure."

"What you doing for dinner?"

"We're making something now."

"Great. I'm on my way home to clean up and get changed then."

"See you soon."

"Bye, Honey."

He hung up, pleased things were working out for the evening. Now for the date. He tapped out his reply to the Homicide Detective before she would begin to think she had made a bad choice.

 _Hi Kate, I will book a table somewhere semi casual for 8 pm. Jeans are fine. May I pick you up?_

He hit send before he changed his mind. Now he needed to think of a restaurant he could book in for tonight. He opted to go middle of the range. If he chose a cheap place like a burger bar, she would take it he didn't think she rated worth of a reservation at top restaurant. He wanted to take her to be best eatery New York City had, but he didn't want to scare the crap out of an already jittery date by taking her to a $300 a meal establishment either. He had to go midway. He had a feeling that Kate Beckett had dined in good restaurants on numerous occasions, that she had a bit of a thing for French food, and generally speaking, she enjoyed any European food. There was no doubt in Rick's mind that the detective had experience the tastes of the finer things in life, but he was also mindful that she would be just as comfortable in a police bar, downing beers and burgers with her colleagues and mates.

Then it came to him. The perfect place for a first date in the colder months. Bella Gioia. A nice Italian restaurant in Brooklyn that made nice comfort food. He Googled their number and dialled.

By the time Rick Castle was taking another ride in an elevator to the loft he owned, he disconnected the phone. In a short time, he had secured a table for two at the Italian joint in Brooklyn and, had managed to book one of his regular drivers to hire a sedan for the trip to the restaurant. He decided he would play it by ear on the way home, perhaps grab a taxi. It all depended upon how the date went, whether they ended up at a bar after dinner or going some place else. Rick knew he was unpredictable but he wasn't so sure about what Kate Beckett would be like once she stepped away from her police persona.

His phone pinged. It was a text from Kate who confirmed she was happy to meet him outside her apartment. She provided the address and asked him to text her when he was a block or so away.

He sent her back the time he would be waiting for her by a car downstairs. On way to her place, he would purchase a single long stemmed red rose, to let her know his intentions were genuine and gentlemanly.

They were seated at a table with a timber bench seat to one side that Kate sat upon, and a chair to the opposite side that Rick pulled out. The table was old timber, scared with years of use. Kate laid the rose Rick had given her on the table to her right, then gazed upward to the red brick wall also to her right. Her left hand unconsciously felt her cheek, the place he had kissed her when they had greeted at the steps to her apartment block. A single kiss had sent her hormones crazy, scorched her skin. Heat remained on her cheeks and within her loins. It was a pleasant, wanting ache.

"Nice place huh?" Rick commented, "Relaxed atmosphere."

"Yes, I like it, Castle." She smiled and kind of pointed then waved a hand in the direction of a massive rectangular bluestone slab protruding from the brickwork, "That's neat. Wonder what it once was used for…"

Rick shrugged his shoulders, "No idea, but the staff might know."

Nearer to Rick there was a framed print of an old map that he briefly studied while he took off his jacket. An open fire kept the restaurant warm. He observed the detective who, once she had taken in their immediate surroundings, glanced around the restaurant quite inquisitive to view the rustic décor of the establishment.

"You've been here before?" She focussed on her date who hung his jacket over the back of the seat. She easily saw his sizeable chest flex beneath the buttoned shirt, his biceps momentarily bulge as he moved and felt her cheeks heat up once again.

"Arr, yeah, a couple of times with Alexis, but for lunch. Haven't been here in the evening," he replied as he sat down, "and she's not quite old enough to be here at night." He gazed about them momentarily before his eyes settled on the woman opposite him. Her cheeks were bright pink. "Are you a little too warm, Detective?"

"Huh?"

He waved a hand in front of his own cheeks, "You're flushed." He saw the colour in her face brighten further, only then deducing he'd missed something. Perhaps she was embarrassed.

She nodded, "Yes, I'm warm."

Nope, she was concealing the truth. Besides that train of thought, he longed to touch her fingers that were on the table, her nails playing with the textures and scratches on the wood surface. He was sure those long slender fingers would be cold to the touch. She moved the rose a fraction over.

"The drink will cool you," he offered. On the way to the table he had ordered their alcoholic beverages and water from the bar.

He decided to flirt with her a little, and said with much sincerity, "You look lovely, by the way, Kate." And indeed she did. She had dressed up and had done so quite spectacularly but simply too. She wore tight black jeans, long black leather stiletto boots and a lovely chocolate rollneck sweater that caused her eyes to appear amber. Her short hair was tousled. She really was cute.

"Thank you."

And he cheeks coloured up again. She was shy. "I still stand by my comments about your eyes too."

Kate's cheeks flushed deeper, "You're not too bad yourself, Mr Castle. I particularly like your shirt, how it makes your…" she cleared he throat, lifting her eyes from his chest to his face, "Eyes look very blue."

He glanced down at his blue cotton shirt, then back to her eyes, his brow creasing. He got it. Like most women, she fancied his chest, his pectoral muscles. He chose to move on, but gave her a look that told her he knew why she was blushing. "Just my eyes, Miss Beckett?"

Kate's eyes shot away from him and she fidgeted on the seat, crossing her left leg over her right. She braved up moments and looked back at him wearing the frown of a woman staring down a mischievous nine year old boy.

A healthy chuckle escaped him, "So, Kate, what do you like to do when you're not working?"

Obviously relieved, she replied, "I have a Harley bike I ride. Read. Movies. You know, the usual things. Go to a few games, concerts." She sat up as their drinks arrived. Two glasses of Scotch.

Rick picked up his glass, "Let's make a toast," he said. Kate picked up her glass.

"You go," she said.

"Ok. Well, thank you for deciding to accept my offer to take you out for dinner. I had a great time," he said, a smile spreading over his face, "I promise I will take good care of you and hope this is the beginning of something brilliant. Cheers."

"It's just dinner, Castle. Cheers."

They clinked their glasses.

Kate had a sip and squinted when the burn of the alcohol flared in her throat.

Rick tossed back a mouthful, swallowed, then corrected, "Dinner date, Kate."

"As friends."

"We must be friends, first and foremost," Rick agreed.

"Yes. Okay, friends it is," she smiled, "To being friends."

"To being best friends."

Kate cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable about where things were going, "And so, what does the author, Richard Castle, do when he's not writing?" She looked down into the glass, swirling the brown liquid, the ice cubes crashing about.

He had watched her long fingers close around the glass, and for reasons he couldn't explain right there and then, it aroused him, and he was momentarily suspended on pause, his eyes locked.

She looked up noticing the long pause of silence between them, "Castle?"

He swallowed. Gazing at her eyes. She had leaned right in to regain his attention, and her fingers shifted to his forearm, scorching his skin. "Huh?"

"What do you do when you're not writing?" Kate asked again, amused by his loss of focus.

"I spend a lot of time procrastinating about writing."

"Writer's block?"

"No, yes, sometimes."

"How do you ..?"

"I try to get out every day so I'm not house bound. Being a writer is a lonely profession. We need inspiration."

"That's why you stalk strange women?"

"What? No! No." He smiled when he noticed her expression, that she was jerking his chain. "Funny."

"Try to be. I'm ready to order if you are," she said.

"I'm ready." He searched for an available waitress or waiter and soon sighted a woman approaching their table.

"You're ready to order?" The brunette woman asked, her smile full of perfect teeth.

"Thank you, yes, we certainly are," Rick replied, "Ladies first." He nodded towards Kate, who fumbled about clearly flustered by something. It was then Rick realised she thought she had been caught perving on him. Her hazel eyes were wide, the whites of her eyes bright and she struggled to focus on reading the menu. Her eyes shot to him, to his smart ass smirk. Her sight returned to the menu.

"Has anything in particular taken your fancy, Miss Beckett?" He inquired with a good dose of cockiness in his tone, watching the woman squirm a little.

Kate's eyes left the menu and peered over the cardboard, flicking between his eyes and mouth. She cleared her throat.

"Umm." She bit the bottom lip, pinching back a cheeky smile. "Maybe," she squeaked, as her fingers went to her mouth. Then, she sat up straight, became serious, looked at the waitress and said with a commanding voice, "I will take the spaghetti and meatballs, please." She looked directly at Rick, pressing her lips together, then said, "I love eating meatballs." She licked her lips, then sat back in her seat staring the writer down.

Rick shut the menu, reached for the water bottle and poured himself a drink. "I'll have the same thing please."

"Too easy," the waitress said and headed off.

Rick gulped down the water, staring at the woman with the smug face, thinking about meatballs. He put down the glass, leaned in and quietly said, "One day, Miss Beckett, you will be my Miss Chatelaine."

Her brow furrowed. She too leaned in with a fierce expression and murmured quite adamantly, "Let's start with dinner, Mr Castle."

Rick roared with laughter, "Hell, this is gonna be fun."


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to those who take the time to send a review. Please enjoy. Just a fun story and I'm not taking this one too seriously …._

 **Chapter 3**

"I must escort you to your door, Kate," Rick peered out of the car's window at the suburbs of Tribeca passing by. He didn't get to this area very often. Soho was his home and generally he didn't need to venture much further. "Besides, my mother would kill me if she heard I hadn't done so."

"I'm a cop, Rick, I don't need protection."

"I know." He turned his head from the window to look at Kate having understood the sharp tone of her voice. She really was a tough nut, but he was gonna break her down. He cast his eyes, up and down, from her hair to her knees in the black jeans. She was worth it. He licked his lips, took in a breath, then said, "But, I'm not disputing that and its irrelevant."

"Why's it irrelevant?"

"Because you're on a date with me. I make sure my date is safe within her home when I leave her." He dropped his gaze to their hands. About a mile back, her left hand had secretly crept its way into this right hand. She had surprised him. He had welcomed her show of affection without a word and now had Kate's hand surrounded by his. He was enjoying every bit of it. He was also right. Her fingers were cold and he was keeping her warm. He would have to let go soon as they were only a block from her apartment. He was however already reluctant to break their connection.

"Your mom?" She suddenly asked, jolting him from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Kill you?"

"Oh!" His eyes opened wide and he nodded, "Oh yeah, she'd kill me if I didn't escort you to your door."

Kate laughed, "I can't wait to tell the boys you are scared of your mother, Ricky."

"Isn't every boy scared of their mother?"

"I dunno Rick, who are you scared of?"

"Well," he thought about it, "Definitely Martha Rogers and I reckon I'm scared of you, and your gun of course."

Kate burst into laughter. "I am so telling the boys."

"Hey… make fun of me, but you will be safely tucked inside your home when I bid you farewell."

"That's very sweet of you, Rick," she said, with a soft smile and moist eyes, "and I will let you come up to my apartment door to bid me good night, but remember, I carry a gun." She raised her right eyebrow almost as though she was challenging him then released a giggle.

"Thank you." Rick raised his eyebrow right back. _Challenge accepted._ Her eyebrow dropped but her brow creased and the eyes narrowed with suspicion. He glanced down then up her slender body, "Where the hell have you hidden the gun? Those jeans are tight. I mean, you look great in them but there's barely room for you in them… you know.. and I'll shut up now," he trailed off noting the frown increased, her dark eyes bored holes into him. She was so cute when she looked angry. "So where's the gun?" He meekly inquired, still curious.

"Never you mind." She held the stare which unnerved and thrilled him.

"I won't stop thinking about now. Just sayin'."

"Keep guessing, Mr Castle."

"Is that a..?"

"No."

"Ok. I'll just think it out."

"Are you gonna hold the cab while you escort me to my door?" Kate inquired dropping the cold stare.

Rick breathed in, enjoying the momentary dizziness. "Well, that depends," he replied with new found confidence.

"Depends how?"

"I could really do with a coffee," he hinted.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. You like coffee, don't you?"

Kate chortled, "Love coffee. Gets me through the day and many nights."

"Well then, there must be a coffee shop or a diner open somewhere close to us tonight."

Kate thought about where they could go and quickly decided it was too cold and late to be out, She also wanted her boots off. And she was ready to take the clothes off, especially the jeans. After the meatballs her tummy needed more room to expand than what the jeans offered. "You know what, Ricky? Why don't you ditch the cab and come up to my place for a night cap and a coffee? Finish off a nice date?"

"Nice?" He squeaked, cleared his throat and tried again, "Nice?"

Kate Beckett rolled with laughter at his expense. It was like music to Rick's ears. He laughed too. His voice had sounded ridiculous.

She glanced out the window as the cab pulled to the curb. She squeezed his fingers. "C'mon, Ricky." She let go of his hand to step out of the car.

Rick passed the driver a $20 then scrambled across the seat and out of the vehicle, following Kate across the pavement to the steps of her apartment building. He paused on the pavement gazing up to the brunette woman half way up the steps wondering if she was experiencing that same internal buzz that his body had had going all evening in her company. He didn't think he'd ever felt so right and at home with any other woman. When she turned about and waved her fingers at him, a come hither look upon her face his heart pumped harder and faster.

"Jesus Christ, help me," he whispered to himself.

"C'mon Ricky, what's keeping you?" She summoned.

A grin broke over his face. "Watch out. I'm coming after you," he gleefully shouted before he flung himself up the steps after her. He heard her squeal as she took off through the entrance, and he just caught the door before it closed. Her laughter echoed in the foyer. He learned then that he loved this woman's joyous laughter. An elevator was available that Beckett entered quickly followed by Castle who moved to the back of the box, breathing heavily from the exertion.

"How the hell do you skate about in those boots so easily?" He asked.

"Practice," Beckett replied as she scanned a security card then hit the floor to her apartment. As soon as she was done, she spun about. "Were you teasing me earlier?"

"Which part? I tease you a lot." The doors slid shut. Rick pushed himself off the wall towards her.

"Miss Chatelaine part."

"Too soon?" He inquired.

"Maybe."

"Then I was teasing you, forget it. Were you teasing me with the meatballs?" Rick wrangled Beckett to one of the side walls. His palms rested against the mirror to each side of the woman's head. Her eyes were teary and glistening from laughing.

She chortled, "I like meatballs."

"I saw that, the way you ate them."

"Delicious." She licked her lip.

"Geez." He took a breath in, "So, Kate, you rated our first date as _nice_ ," he stated, then licked his lips. "That's like what, a four out of ten?" He leaned in a little, lingered there, fascinated with the way her eyes flicked between his eyes and lips. In fact, it was another thing about her that really turned him on. Her scent aroused sensations he didn't believe he'd ever felt before. She was smiling, almost anticipating that he was gonna kiss her. "Four outa ten. Not good."

"It's been nice so far," she softly said, her fingers playing at his shirt. He glanced down to his chest, to the slender fingers twisting in his shirt. "It was more than a four," she said and followed it with a nervous giggle.

He drew closer and whispered, "I anticipated your report to be great, like at least a nine point five."

Kate fisted her hand in his shirt. She bit her bottom lip then said, "I still stand by, you have no idea."

"I'm getting the picture." Rick pulled away, stepped back, his eyes on hers. She tilted the red rose softly against her lips. It was almost like she was teasing him, perhaps imagining it was his fingers brushing her skin or giving her a tender kiss. It certainly had the desired effect on him. He wanted to be that rose. He smiled, wagging a finger at her. "We still have time, Ms Beckett as the night is not over."

The elevator stopped.

"Let's start with the coffee, Mr Castle," she said in her cop like manner and stepped forward, nudging him backwards with her left index finger poking him in the chest, "Wow Ricky. That chest is quite hard," she said as they exited the elevator.

"I work out sometimes," he replied playfully snatching her fingers inside of his much larger hand. He stopped, glanced about, doing a half circle in the corridor.

"Where we going?"

She pointed with her free hand behind him. "Third door on the left."

"Oh." He spun about, she fell in beside him and they strode along the hallway to the said door. They only then broke contact so she could find her keys.

"I'm so full from dinner," she mumbled, her hand jammed in the right front pocket of her jeans.

"Not enough room for your dinner and you, and now your hand?" He calmly inquired.

She snorted. "I was only thinking before how much I want to get changed, to make room for those meatballs."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "I don't know where you put all that. I barely got through it and you're under half my size."

"I love food, Rick and I'm more than half your mass."

"I doubt it. Good about the food. I'll take you out somewhere different next time. You must have hollow legs. Nice legs, but hollow."

"That's confident."

"What? My compliment about your legs or my belief there will be a second date?"

"Umm." Kate contemplated his question her face screwing up in thought. "Um, the bit about the second date. You know, this has been nice and all that, but…"

"Oh, so here we go with the nice again. I'll show you a good time, Kate, I promise. Now get this door open so we can make coffee."

"Promises, promises," she mumbled and turned to the door.

"Mmm hmmm," he replied. "You wait."

As she went to insert a key, she looked over her shoulder at him. "Don't get any ideas, Rick. This is only an invitation for coffee and a night cap."

"I know. I promise I will remain a perfect gentleman until you tell me to be otherwise, but the ideas were there in my imagination days ago," he confessed and smirked boyishly, causing her eyes to roll. "You have a heads up on my safe word."

Kate smirked, "Well, I will set you down on your ass if you and your imagination make any moves," she said as she turned the key in its lock, then twisted the handle.

"Duly noted, Detective Beckett," he replied, looking right into her eyes when her head spun back in his direction. "I have to tell you one more time today that you really do have beautiful eyes, you know."

Kate paused, clearly contemplating how to process and respond to his compliment. That time he had been nothing but spontaneous and honest. No filter between his brain and mouth. An intake of breath relaxed her facial muscles and she gave him a shy smile.

"Thank you, yours are quite nice too. I mean, I really like blue eyes and..." She became awkward and fidgety, her eyes unable to settle, which caused Rick's heart to skip a couple of beats. Her fingers touched her own lips before she muttered, "Your lips. They are quite beautiful."

Rick touch his lips, their eyes locked. On the job she acted confident, almost full of herself, but tonight he'd seen a softer, a far more reserved, feminine and enchanting woman.

"Thank you, Kate," he sincerely responded. She looked away to unlock the door.

The door opened presenting an apartment already lit up with soft lamps scattered about the living area. Kate Beckett was a woman who left the lights on when she went out. Taking her cue, he extracted the key from the door, closed it and locked them inside the apartment. He searched about him, soon finding a small silver bowl he discarded the keys in.

Meanwhile, Kate removed her jacket and hung it in a recess by the door. "Make yourself at home, Rick. I keep it probably too warm in here but I can turn off the heating."

"It's fine. I'm comfortable in a shirt," he said and pulled off his jacket. She was correct. The apartment was warm but not overbearingly hot. The tall brunette walked through a second doorway into the living area ahead of him, her heeled boots striking the hardwood floor. Castle stole several seconds to admire the woman's ass in the tight jeans. He followed her, glancing about the reasonably sized apartment. He guessed there were two bedrooms, and the living area was open planned. She had a good collection of books, and knick knacks from many countries scattered about on display.

He followed his date to her kitchen, where she filled a vase with water to drop the rose in. She placed the small pink vase in the middle of the counter stealing a moment to admire the flower. Her attention returned to Rick who was having a look about.

"It's a lovely rose, isn't is," she murmured studying the rose as though she had never seen one, "Beautiful colour. Thank you."

"Yes, it is lovely. You're welcome. Next time it will be a dozen."

She laughed. "A single rose extends the same message, Rick."

"Quite true." He had watched her take care of the single rose, completely unaware that given a few days, when the rose was expiring, she would press that rose inside a book to keep it for the rest of her life.

"Will you excuse me a moment? I wanna change into something more comfortable and get my boots off."

"Certainly. Take your time," he said.

"There's a bathroom through there if you need to use it."

"Thanks," He followed where her arm pointed to a closed door, "I'll fix up the coffee."

Walking away, she said, "Everything's on the counter, Castle. I think there is cream and milk in the fridge."

"I'll be right," he called after her, watching her ass once again walk away from him. It was a beautiful ass.

No longer distracted by the woman, he began arranging the coffee machine. He found a bag of coffee beans while he made every attempt to shut his imagination down. He landed his hands on a coffee been grinder in a cupboard beneath the machine, and filled it with enough beans for a couple of decent mugs of coffee. He plugged the grinder in the wall wondering about what she was changing into to, what did Kate Beckett consider was comfortable clothing that she could also wear in his presence. He was still thinking about that when he also remembered the milk. His inspection of the fridge left him aghast. Raising a teenage daughter, his fridge was filled with healthy food, some junk food, but full nevertheless.

He peered inside at the empty shelves. There was a box of Asian food that he tipped enough to see inside of. Kate had a science project going on in that box. He screwed his nose up. There was a carton of full cream milk he gingerly lifted from the fridge door. He anticipated he was going to find yoghurt or sour cream, but to Kate's credit the milk was fresh. Happy with that he returned to the gurgling coffee machine to prepare the frothy milk.

Alone in the bedroom, Kate had quickly rifled through her drawers of nightwear and casual clothing until she found clothing that wasn't sexy but had some appeal to it. She now stood in front of her bathroom mirror staring herself down. She looked fine, and if she wanted to really turn him on, she had kept on her black lace teddy. She ruffled her short hair then smoothed it so it didn't look like she had toyed with it.

She leaned into the mirror, and whispered, "You have Richard friggin Castle in your home." She couldn't stop the smile and the girlish squeal that escaped her as she did a bit of a swirl. She stilled and covered her mouth afraid he would hear her, then focussed on her reflection.

"I cannot believe you just did that," she muttered to herself. She studied herself, wondering what he saw in her hazel eyes. Why she had such a strange reaction to his company.

"What will you do?" She dwelled on that question. Rick Castle was making it quite clear he would like to take things further with her in many ways. His level of commitment at such as early stage was spooking her. She'd had her share of one night stands and they were fun but she felt a lot hinged on this night. She wanted to push him out the door and send him home for the night. Make him work for what he wanted. On the other hand it was her who wanted to grab him by his shirt collar and drag him to her bed. She longed to kiss his lips. She desired every bit of him. He had acted like such a jerk the night she met him. His behaviour hadn't altered how her body had reacted. Her loins had ached the entire time she had questioned him. In fact, her desires were putting forward a good argument as to what she should be doing with the man who was making coffee in her kitchen. A wicked smile appeared. Her eyes glistened. What would it hurt to be naughty for a night bit a famous writer. Who would believe she had slept with a celebrity of sorts. She just a cop.

Kate pushed her hands against the vanity and stepped back. It was time to make a decision.

"You found the stuff," Kate said disrupting Rick minutes later.

He turned about, gazing upon his date who had indeed changed. The sweater, jeans and boots had been replaced with a loose t-shirt, black leggings and sheep skin slippers. She had certainly grasped the concept of comfortable, but still looked bloody sexy.

"Yeah," he vaguely replied, "I've got the stuff." But he wasn't thinking about what she was.

"Snap out of it Romeo, I only put on this old t-shirt," she ordered leaning with her hands on the counter to inspect his progress. "If you knew what was beneath this, I think I would be afraid," she said, raising her right eyebrow.

Rick's hand hit his chest and he staggered, implying he was unable to breathe. "Let me guess, black g-string and lace bra, or or or…. Lace teddy, in black," he declared pointing a finger at her.

She laughed at his boyish behaviour, "If only you knew, Ricky … this is killing you not knowing."

He sobered, "Nope, I can wait. I have an excellent imagination that feeds my ferocious appetitie." He waved a hand at the fridge, "You have nothing in your fridge, Kate," he commented mainly to shove his naughty thoughts to the back of his mind. He was now on the hunt for coffee mugs, and Kate, seeming to understand, pointed to the fourth cupboard over the coffee machine. He opened the door to find half a dozen mugs, all different.

"I eat out a lot," she explained, "And I don't particularly like to go grocery shopping."

"Do you have a favourite mug?"

"The red one, thank you."

"Red one it is," he selected a blue mug for himself.

"The blue is my second favourite."

"I bet your food pantry is practically bare too," he said keeping an eye on the mugs filling with the dark liquid. The aroma of the coffee told Rick she splashed out when she bought her beans.

"It might be." She smiled coyly her eyes shooting to the pantry door in the corner of the kitchen to Rick's left.

He placed two mugs of coffee on the kitchen counter. "Where do you keep the sweeteners?"

Kate pointed to the third overhead cupboard from the left. "I have sugar free vanilla."

Rick opened the cupboard to find a single bottle of sugar free vanilla syrup, almost full. The rest of the cupboard was bare. "I'm embarrassed for you, Kate."

"Why? Food goes off. I throw it out."

"Well yeah, but you don't have standard stuff, like white or raw sugar? What about your guests?"

"Funny, Rick."

It then occurred to Rick that Kate didn't bring people home or host guests. She met them in coffee shops or restaurants. This apartment was her private universe, her recluse. No one came here, except perhaps the medical examiner she was good friends with. He would not make fun of her privacy. It was a privilege she had invited him in to her lair.

"Well next time I'm over, I will bring sachets, and some stuff to put in these cupboards" he said.

"Are you expecting a next time?"

Rick poured a short stream of vanilla into a coffee and stirred, thinking about her query. He decided to go for it and with a good dose of confidence he said, "Yep, Beckett, there will be a next time, as we are going to be best friends for sure." He chose to go without vanilla in his coffee. He pushed the cup toward her and set the bottle of vanilla on the counter. "Try it. It's gonna be good."

"You sound pretty sure."

He chuckled, "Honey, once you've had a taste of this you will be begging me for more."

Kate burst into giggles, "Had a taste of you? Please!"

"Not me!" He laughed, "I'm talking about my coffee. Try it. Get your mind out of the gutter, Ms Beckett. I will allow you to taste all of me given time." He had to hold his laughter in when she suddenly sobered. Her cheeks blushed yet again and she messed with that damn bottom lip.

"What makes you think I want a taste of you?"

"Instincts do," he replied swallowing the saliva she had caused a build up of.

"Instincts," she echoed.

"Yes." His body desired her, but he knew he had to shut that down. She twirled her fingers in a strand of hair. "And you will come back begging for more of that too."

"Begging?" Seemed she couldn't resist the temptation to look at his body. It was done shyly but she definitely sized him up as a potential mate. She was teasing but he went with it.

"Begging," he confirmed. Suddenly, he wished the coffee was an alcoholic beverage, something to relax her, calm him. She was a little cautious. He was as nervous as a school boy. Each time she relaxed, he found she was very capable of the art of seduction. Then she would withdraw and be serious. However, he had to let her feel fully comfortable with him and he concluded he knew how to fix that. He too was a little wound up but knew how to fix that too. Scotch.

Another glass of Scotch would be good. They should have crawled onto a bar for a social drink after they left the restaurant.

He noticed her eyes were dilating. She leaned a hand on the counter and unconsciously swayed her hips. Now that was hot. He concealed his groin that was on its own agenda.

"You sure about those instincts, Ricky?"

"Yes. Drink your coffee," he quickly said, needing the coffee as a distraction. It was time to stop flirting.

She picked up the mug and took a sip. Her eyes widened. "You're right, Rick. Out of this world," she exclaimed, laughing.

He couldn't help but smile in response to her laughter. "Did I say that?"

She smiled broadly, "No." She had another sip. "But you're right. You make great coffee." It was far better than how she prepared it with the same damn machine.

"Remind me what it was that I said?"

She bit the lip again aware he was teasing her and she was enjoying every second of his boyish attention. She continued to humour him. "You mentioned something about once I've had a taste of it I will have you back for more." She stopped talking as the tall, handsome man rounded the counter, closing in on her. He came in so close she could feel heat radiating off his body. His jacket was off and his muscles flexed beneath the cotton shirt as he moved. It would be exciting to peel that shirt off his back, push it down his powerful arm. His eyes were brilliant blue, intoxicating. His veins thrummed in his neck and she found herself wanting to suck his throat, to feel the power of pulse against her lips. Then she considered his strength, contemplated how he would use it when making love sent her to another level of sexual tension. In fact, she didn't remember ever feeling what was going on inside her right now.

She put the coffee down before she dropped it, sliding it across the counter out of the way. Coffee wasn't the something her body desired any more. He certainly didn't care for coffee.

Using only the fingertips of three fingers, he touched her left cheek. She shied, a little spooked by how her body reacted. He broke contact. She felt his exhaled breath over her skin. He waited, watched her, hardly moving.

"Sorry," she whispered and gave him consent by shyly making eye contact.

"I'm not sorry," he replied barely audible as he stepped in even closer, his face closer to the side of her heard and he inhaled deeper.

"Don't stop." Her hand found his other hand and slipped into it.

"Only when you tell me to." He closed his fingers around hers.

 _Only when you tell me to._

That sounded serious. It sounded committed, long term, short term, right now.

 _He's referring to the present._ Kate felt her cheeks heat just as he resumed his touch near her beauty spot. Her body shuddered.

"Don't stop," she repeated.

His fingers traced a path to her chin and onto her bottom lip. Afraid he would stop, she kept still and her breathing shallowed. Their contact felt like electrical currents soaring through her. It was captivating, thrilling and terrifying, and caused her to forget to breathe. At first, she shied from his touch then found herself crowding him so he didn't stop.

Slowly, he leaned in to kiss her. It was light. His lips were hot from the coffee, soft, moist. He pulled away maybe to assess the situation. Coffee was on his breath. Kate's mind raced a100 miles per hour but nothing stayed in it. Her lips tingled. It's all she felt. She drew in air she badly needed.

"Little more, please" she said on her exhale of air.

"Yes, more is good." He gave her more. He kissed her harder, gently sucking on and pressing her lips between his. Her mouth opened for him. His fingers combed through her hair. The need for oxygen broke them. Panting, their foreheads met.

"I can't believe you're single. You're single, right?" He asked between breaths, his tone genuine and playful.

She chortled, "Of course."

"How are you single?" He asked between breaths.

"I always say no," Kate closed her eyes, suddenly nervous. She did reject offers to date more than she accepted. "Except for you."

"Lucky me." He combed his hand through her hair, which almost caused her to buckle at the knees.

The brain was arguing about whether to ask him to stay the night. She wanted to sleep with him in her bed, she wanted to make love with him. It had been a long time since she'd shared a bed with a guy. Were there condoms in the bedside table? She couldn't remember. Did he carry them assuming he would end up in her bed? He softly kissed her face, holding her in his hands. The kisses were delicious, and she tilted her head back exposing his neck and throat for him. He went there, burning her flesh with his tongue and mouth.

"What is happening?" she asked.

"Not sure, but it feels fantastic."

"I feel drunk."

"Same. Gloriously so." He kissed a path up her neck. The feel of his lips brushing against her skin almost sent her crazy. His lips touch hers. She pulled him closer by his shirt, kissing him harder.

His hands left her head, slid down her back to relocate cupping her buttocks, lightly squeezing her. Her arms fell about his shoulders.

He easily lifted her off the floor, then sat her on the kitchen counter where she was closer to his height. He maintained kissing but his hands slid beneath the t-shirt, roaming her waist.

"Lace teddy," he mumbled between kisses and groaned his approval. He was between her knees, their hips close enough for her to wrap her legs about his body, He moaned and moved in closer.

"You do you feel that, right?" He asked.

Kate nodded, "If you're talking about the crazy flood of hormones making me all dizzy, then yes."

"Its new to me," Rick confessed, stroking his fingers up and down and over the contours of her collar bone and neck, watching the back his own hand traced, because he couldn't think with clarity and needed to tunnel his attention. A part of his mind was screaming too fast, go home whilst another part him sensed that he had finally found her, that this was the start of something special. Parts of him were on their own agenda. His finger traced the dip of her clavicle. Her skin was incredibly soft and smooth, she had the most beautiful shoulders he'd ever seen. She must have used body moisturiser.

"Me too," she whispered, disrupting his thoughts. His eyes shot to hers.

It was time to stop or to take it all the way. She scanned his face, his dilated eyes, messed up hair and full pink lips. She touched them ever so lightly. She smiled, captivated by him and whispered. "Hello."

"Hello," he responded as quietly, his fingers combing through her hair. He thought that was so cute. "Are we moving too fast, Kate?" He asked.

She nodded, "Only because you're a celebrity, I'm not."

"I'm not a celebrity here. I'm just a guy named Rick, who has spent a great evening dating and charming and kissing a beautiful dame named Kate," he chuckled at his own humour, at the way she responded with a big smile, then gave her a gentle, slow kiss. He pulled back looking over her face, into her eyes, "Seriously Kate, I don't want my status or our careers blocking what we seem to have …."

She stopped him with a finger over his lips, "Chemistry," she stated, "We have chemistry."

"We certainly have that…"

"So, we're not moving too fast. I'm spooked by what I'm feeling but want more. Much more."

He smiled, "Me too. Much more too."

She stroked his hair, whispered, "I want you to be otherwise, Rick."

"Huh?" Confused, he thought about her statement. "Oh okay." He smiled, pressed his lips to hers again. "You sure?"

"Mm. Yuss." Her brow furrowed, "I don't know if I have …"

"Protection?"

"Mm."

"I don't carry but I can run down to the …."

"No…" she leaned to him, wanting more of what his mouth could do. Hands to his head she drew him back kissing him harder, more urgently. His hand cupped her breast. She wanted clothes off and any physical contact with this man.

His palms made their way back to her buttocks. He picked her up, hustled her up and turned about.

"Where's the bedroom? I'm happy to kiss you all night."

Kate laughed, holding onto his shoulders with her right arm and with her left, she pointed to the closed door near a large painting.

"Good, we're heading that way. This is better than great already."

 _For those of you who disagree/dislike/ with them getting together, please remember that the theme of this story is exploring their getting together at the beginning "The Secret Life …" and concealing it. AU._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you for those who are reading and for those leaving comments. Here we go a bit to the M side._

 **Chapter 4**

"Kate?" He whispered into the darkness, wondering whether her change of breathing rhythm was a sign she was waking up. He had been awake a little while, waking naturally with an urge to use the bathroom. Now back in bed, he rolled wriggled his body to his side to face Kate's sleeping form. What he had done with her last night came flooding back to him with a super wave of emotions. He kept quiet and still, and waited for her to rouse, but so far, Kate hadn't responded at all to him saying her name.

She was almost lying on her back, her head to the side with her left hand tucked under her chin. He breathed in the scent of her, the shampoo she used, of them. Their combined smell was appealing and turned him on more than a minute or so ago when he'd been recollecting their nocturnal activities, He whispered again, "Katie?"

He got up on his elbow and gazed down upon her face. She was beautiful and he was feeling foreign in his own body about what she was doing to him, the thoughts that were coming into his mind. Unusual ideas. Somewhere on the surface it spooked him a little but deep down inside things were feeling very right that morning. He'd found the missing piece.

And she wasn't waking. He wanted to be with her one more time before he left.

He pressed a tender kiss to her temple, another to her dark hair, then murmured, "Honey?"

His hand stroked the top of her head. She was beginning to slowly come to. Her breathing altered, "Kate? Wake up. I have to leave soon." A further few presses of his lips to her temple and jaw.

She tilted her head a fraction, released a sound that indicated she was enjoying his attention. Her hand lifted to his.

"Kate, honey?" He wanted to say goodbye, as he didn't want her waking in the morning with him having gone without saying anything. He kissed her cheek. She rolled her head to his mouth and kissed him.

He wasn't certain she was awake, but the way she kissed persuaded him she was at some level of semiconsciousness.

"Honey? Are you awake?" He caressed her hair from her face which is what stirred her into a hazy state of consciousness. She moved and muttered something he didn't understand but she sounded awfully cute and the way she pushed herself into him was even more so.

"I have to go." Once again, he softly kissed the side of her face, then her cheek.

"No, stay," she whispered.

"Want to, but I can't," he ran his hand down over her left breast then down her body and over her pubic bone. She was moist, warm. She moved her legs accepting him.

"Stay a little.." her fingers brushed over his chest, down over his abdomen, no doubt tempting him.

"Oh, Kate," he moaned kissing her jaw, her throat, "you are so cute. I have …" He stopped talking when her fingers softly wrapped around him. A pleasant sound of approval escaped her and her lips formed a smile of satisfaction. He closed his eyes as all strength to leave disappeared. His hand moved further south on her.

"Stay a little longer," she repeated. She gasped a little when he found her clit.

He breathed in deeper, smiled into their kisses, amused by her behaviour to retain him. "There you go," he mumbled and she moaned pure pleasure.

"You're staying," she said firmly.

"Mm." He wasn't whether she asked or told him. He'd made up his mind. He'd stay a little while longer. She was physically keeping him in the bed, holding him there as a fact. Certainly wasn't the detective in her bedroom at 5.00 am.

He blindly reached over Kate to the bedside table he patted the top of in search of something he soon found. He pinched up the last condom packet. Using his teeth, he ripped open the packaging. He slid the rubber out and with one hand and Kate's help dressed his engorged penis. Kate rolled to her back, finalising the condom to its rightful place. Moving above Kate's body, he gently urged her thighs apart. They kissed as he guided himself inside her body.

She squeaked. He paused. He pulled out, he pushed in deeper. He closed his eyes wishing he didn't have to leave, imagining he was in a cold place to hold on longer. He wanted more time before reality and life imposed upon them. He felt her hands draw him down to her body and she continued to kiss him, her legs wrapping about him, her soft, smooth thighs sliding over his skin. She would soften her grip, tighten, drop away and all the time her movement was adding to what he could feel inside her body.

"Keep seeing me," he softly pleaded in a whisper close to her left ear.

"Mm," she responded, her hands caressing his back, "Keep seeing me," she echoed.

He lifted a little to see her eyes, grinned then kissed her harder. It was a brief kiss, as he then raised his upper body, momentarily closing his eyes. They could barely see each other's faces in the darkness of the bedroom but they seemed to be in sync already. Beneath him, she refrained from being too active, so he didn't climax early. Even this morning in the early hours of the morning he was excited, calmer than last night but still keen. She, on the other hand had a body that was spent and satiated and he'd seen to it she would be so today. He was positive her body was fatigued but she still wanted more of him. She was sleepy and relaxed, which was making it more comfortable than their first encounter last night when they had been nervous and tense.

He had stayed the entire night something he rarely died, and he was pretty sure she expected to wake along in the morning. He'd stayed because he couldn't bare having her wake by herself. He had woken her, wanting more, not wanting to flee the scene even though he had to. Now he filled her and asked for a bit more every time he pushed himself inside her. He was gentle and slow this morning, intimate. She flexed her muscles. He opened his eyes to her and kind of smirked.

"Keep that up and I won't be there for much longer," he muttered. She smiled, touching his face. He dropped right over her body going onto his elbows. kissing. She reached her hands about his torso, over his ribs. She wanted to lift her legs around his him, cross her ankles at his backside but she stayed where she was, spread enough for his width and relaxed. He penetrated deeply and slowly. He lifted away for air, to pant.

She caressed his face. She was on the edge of climaxing. Her body was feeling and doing things she hadn't felt in a long time. She didn't want him to stop what he was doing. It felt like magic. She didn't want him to depart her company so early but she knew she couldn't hold him back.

He nibbled at her neck in a manner that heightened her nerve response. Her body arched, slackened, arched. His pelvis played purpose against her pubic bone with every thrust. She couldn't stop her legs from lifting higher, altering the angle of her pelvis. She pushed the bedsheets of his body relieving him of the added heat. He was more focussed, she was beginning another orgasm beneath him and it rolled in like an express train. She gripped his body, as hers writhed and shook, causing him to fuck her quickly. She was loud, boisterous and he was silent and physical. He slumped over her breathing heavily into the pillow. His hand was cupping her head.

His body continued to slide within her and his rib cage rapidly expanded and contracted over hers, his heart thumping almost in time with her heart. Usually, she pushed the man off after copulation but she wanted him there, wanted the proximity of him to remain intimate, wanted him inside her. Two humans could not get any closer and for about the first time in her life she wasn't telling the mounted partner to get off.

Rick gave several more thrusts into her. He remained aroused and his cock was sensitive. When he did withdraw he pushed himself right up then flopped to the bed on his back. He cheekily looked at Kate, better able to see her with the morning light starting to creep in the room. He found her hand and entwined her fingers in his.

"I have to go get Alexis off to school."

"Ok." She squeezed his hand, "I need coffee."

"It's early. Go back to sleep." He sat up and swung his legs off the bed. Then turned around, leaned over and gave her a kiss, "I'll bring you coffee later."

"Good coffee?"

"Great coffee with two pumps of non-sugar vanilla."

Kate smiled, gave him one more kiss. "Go take care of your child," she said, releasing him. She rolled to her side curling up, prepared to sleep until her alarm would sound. She heard Rick hunt for his clothes, then go to the bathroom. Somewhere as she drifted away, she felt him spread the blankets over her body, then his hand caress her head.

The loft was dark and silent when Rick opened the front door. He quietly clicked the door shut, threw the keys in the bowl and turned on the lights. He was glad for the solitude, for the limited time he could be alone, lost in his thoughts before the daylight and life took over. It wouldn't be long before his daughter came down for breakfast. Upstairs the hall light was on, indicating she was out of bed and using her bathroom to get ready for school.

In the kitchen, he switched on the coffee machine, then made his way to the bedroom, tugging off his soiled clothing that had spent the better part of the night slung over the bed end owned by a detective he was rather fond of. He smirked to himself recollecting their activities. His body carried the scent of them which only served to fuel his hunger to have the woman again. Never in his life had he experienced the depth of the want he was suffering. Kate Beckett was thrilling, mysterious, made love like he'd always fantasised about. He was mad about her. If he could have remained in her apartment he would have stayed there for days.

The shower was steaming hot when he stepped beneath it, thinking about the way he'd handled the woman. She had been quite nervous to begin with but once she had gone beyond that she had turned into quite the lover. He stayed under the stream of water soaking his body, peering down at the erection he once again sported, barely a half hour ago since he had taken the detective. He wished she was there with him now. The last two times they had done it had been bordering on the edge of making love. The first time they had been nervous, clumsy like a couple of teenagers trying it out for the first time. She had surprised him and had literally shot the gun too soon, climaxing within a minute of him touching her.

Out of the shower he dressed in a fresh t-shirt and clean jeans. That would do for now. Barefooted he returned to the kitchen to make his first coffee for the day. He was preparing a cup of tea and had bread in the toaster when he heard his daughter's shoes on the wooden stairs. She was dressed ready for school with a large bag slung over her shoulder. She would have breakfast with him to begin her day.

"Morning Dad." She dropped her bag on the couch then made her way to the kitchen.

"Morning daughter." He gave her a kiss on her forehead as she hugged his torso. It didn't seem too long ago she had barely stood to the height of his hips and now she was at his shoulders.

"You must have got in late last night. Gran and I went to bed gone eleven." Alexis sat at the breakfast bar assessing her father's appearance. As usual he was showered and dressed but this morning he seemed chirpy, looked different.

"Not long after midnight." He slid a cup of tea over the counter to his daughter. "Want a piece of toast?"

"Please. Did you have a good evening?"

"Yes, yes I did. Best night I've had in a long time, sweetie. Did you get your exam results?"

"Yes. Smashed it."

"That's my girl. Wanna celebrate with dinner tonight?"

"Would love to. I should be home by four tonight."

"I'm not sure of my plans as yet, but I will text you." He passed her the toast on a plate and placed a few spreads on the counter that she could choose from.


	5. Chapter 5

_As this is an AU story following the same kind of path as the series, you will find patches of story from the show and it might be changed here and there for the sake of this story so jump those patches if you wish. This story will be basically twisting with the series. It might also be a spell between loading new chapters as I work and am studying. I'm also writing bits that relate to Season 4, and bits that I get inspired by, but I need to post in order of eps and seaons for this to make sense. Disclaimer – I don't own the characters etc. Thank you for the reviews and idea via PM. Some good ones there. Enjoy._

 **Chapter 5**

"Boy, oh boy, oh boy," Kate expelled, slumping back in her office chair. She'd slept a half hour past the alarm and got ready for work in what she considered warp speed. After Rick left was probably the deepest sleep she'd had in a while. They'd barely had two hours of sleep, too captivated and interested in each other to both with rest.

She desperately needed coffee she had bought, but she should have bought breakfast as she was starving.

Alone in the bull pen with her take away coffee cooling on the desk, she closed her eyes allowing herself to drift of recalling their night together. She couldn't think about much else to be honest. The first thing she remembered thinking was how well they fitted physically. Her mind was a blank canvas of thoughts for hours, but she was filled with a memory of ecstasy, bliss, shaking, trembling, of crying out his name, entanglement, hugging and the best intercourse she ever experienced her entire adult life. Her body ached, blissfully ached.

Today, Beckett lived with a body that was spent. It was a biological highway of nervous energy buzzing, trembling and pulsing through every cell, draining the last of the physical energy that was left. Every muscle had pain when she moved, but in a great way. She gazed down upon her tall slender body, that had never been serviced so spectacularly as last night, all night. The writer certainly had skills beyond putting words on paper. He didn't rush, took his time and he was right into women. And talk about large claims.

"Wow," she unconsciously murmured, a naughty smile creeping over her face. "Yep. Large." She was rather fond of that part of him.

She was exhausted, but overall, she felt alive, felt capable of running a marathon with ease: could jump a tall building, soar into the sky. She felt bouncy even if she was draped on the office chair imitating a wet rag. Blame the pheromones. They were multiplying by the second and flowing through her veins like a drug. A very addictive substance. If there was a thing that measured pheromones, and perhaps there was one already, then her reading would be off the dial. Totally out of this world. This hormone overflow was far better than any drug she'd experimented with in her partially ill spent youth. The writer had blown her mind.

She burst into giggles. Her hand covering her mouth.

Kate sat up. Stifled the laughter. She hadn't meant for that to happen.

She picked up the coffee cup, glanced about her in the hope no one was close enough to have heard her spontaneous outburst. It had sounded giddy and girlish. Un-Beckett- like in deed. No one had noticed. Nobody cared anyway. She flopped back on the chair. Her mind made a quick beeline back to where it wanted to be. Her bedroom with the famous writer she had shagged all night long. All night – just to be clear. She grinned and tilted her head longing to be back there.

Just before dawn, Rick had kissed her goodbye promising he would see her again. Half asleep, she had been filled with a sense of injustice that he was leaving so early, but it was fair that he be home to see his daughter off to school.

Going back to the he is famous part. Although he'd make it very clear he wanted to date her, would he be interested in doing so today? Also, if he did want to go on another date when would she hear? He'd said something about bringing her coffee later. She'd been semi-conscious at the time he'd left the apartment but she was quite sure he'd said the words coffee, bring and later in one sentence. She furrowed her brow. The case was closed. Why would he bring her coffee? When was later?

Maybe, she should consult Lanie about this. The doctor was a dating connoisseur which also meant she would have the answers. Experts had the answers. She picked up her phone to call Lanie, then paused. If she told Lanie she had gone on a date with the author, that she had been a total bitch to, that would look bad. Lanie would want all the details, even the juicy stuff. Right now, she didn't want to share any of it, the date, the meal, the venue, the chemistry and for fuck's sake she didn't want to share the details about their time spent in the bedroom. That was their secret. Actually, she didn't want to burst her little love sick bubble with other people's comments and feedback. She was enjoying the float in her bubble.

"I really was a bitch," she whispered to herself, recalling a few of the things she'd said to Rick Castle in the hope it would dissuade his efforts to get in her pants. She had spent days trying to be rid herself of him. Who'd won that round? She smiled, feeling the ache and soreness of her bits. She may have lost, but she certainly didn't feel defeated.

Decision was made. She wouldn't tell Lanie she went on a date. She wouldn't tell anyone. But would Rick make contact? What was the time frame for sending after sex text messages? She had no idea. Dating wasn't her thing really. She had surprised herself when she had sent Rick a message. She'd done that in a weak moment.

"Damn. Lanie would know this sort of shit." She closed her eyes and weighed up the options.

 _Keep it to myself. If I tell Lanie, she will tell Esposito cos those two seem to have something starting the way they eye each other off. Tell Ryan and he will tell Esposito who will tell Lanie. That will result in Lanie being pissed because she didn't hear it directly from me._

Kate opened her phone to check if she had received a text messages from Mr Castle in the past 10 minutes.

He'd texted her.

Kate sat up and fiddled with the phone until their thread of texts was up. She grinned. The butterflies in her chest fluttered madly.

 _Best date eva. Thank you, Kate. Are you open to topping that one with another? Always, Rick._

Okay. She now had the answer about how long she would have to wait for a second date. No long.

She tapped back, unconsciously smiling, _You're pretty sure about that second date, Castle_.

She hit send, hoping it wasn't too stand offish. She saw the bubble appear indicating he was busy writing some whimsical response. Here it came.

 _Sure as I am the moon will be in the sky tonight._

Kate Beckett grinned uncontrollably. She tapped back, _I don't know if you handle another hot steamy …_

The elevator tinged. Kate sat up too quickly. She accidentally hit send and she flipped the phone over setting it down on the desk. She reached for her coffee. The voices of Esposito and Ryan debating about last night's game came from the foyer. She started to scan her emails waiting for the boys to pass her desk.

"Beckett. Morning, Chica," Esposito cheerfully said as he passed her desk.

"Espo, how'd your team do last night?"

"They won."

"Morning, Kate," Ryan greeted, smiling at the detective who had a sip of coffee. She then put down the cup and sat back to watch the boys settle in for the day.

"Morning Kevin." She said, glancing down to her phone that buzz with an incoming text.

He paused, studying her face. She had a pleasant expression on her face, seemed unusually docile for this time of the morning, and her pupils were somewhat dilated. But she looked like a child that'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

She was also relaxed with a dreamy look in her eyes. Beckett, relaxed. Now that was something different. He could almost see her sitting back against a bed head, smoking a cigarette after having great sex. Like in the old movies.

"You look different, Beckett," he casually said.

"Different? How?" She glanced between the two men who were studying her. She felt her cheeks burn and her right hand unconsciously found its way to her clavicle.

Esposito spoke up. "Yeah, Beckett, Kev's right. If I didn't know better I'd say you got totally laid last night." He gave a hearty chuckle.

Ryan coughed up his coffee then laughed nervously. He put his cup down and reached for a tissue to clean up his mess. He was clearly waiting for her to bite the bait and Esposito was smirking like a smartass, waiting for her reaction.

"Who was the victim, Chica?" He teased, "Did you let him go or shoot him afterwards?"

Kate stared at Esposito her tongue pressed into her right cheek to hold back the laughter. She had the biggest urge to jump out of chair shouting, ' _Yes! You're right! I fucked Castle's brains out and it was the best sex I've ever had!'_ but she gripped the arms of her chair to keep herself in it and maintained her line of vision on Esposito, trying her utmost not to crack under the pressure. When she was ready, she replied, "You're wrong, Detective."

She wouldn't believe herself with the tone of voice that came from her mouth.

"No, I'm not wrong. You've got that glow all over you… I 'm a detective, I know these things."

"This time you're wrong, and victim? What am I, a black widow or something?"

The boys laughed.

"Who was it, Beckett?"

"I spent the night in bed reading a book. Unlike you Espo, I can read."

"I can read. Prefer to see the movie," Esposito grinned, "I know that look, Beckett." He pointed at her face, "About time you got properly laid, Chica," he said then walked off toward the breakout, grinning at her. He was pleased his partner had a good night, whatever it was she did and that he'd had the opportunity to stir her up a bit. He also knew her limits, hence why he walked away.

"He's only taking a stab in the dark with that comment, you know, Beckett," Ryan said with caution.

"I know." She watched Esposito pour himself a coffee. Esposito took enjoyment out of teasing her and she enjoyed every bit of it. He kept glancing at her, giving her smart ass looks. She gave him the death stare.

As he walked back to his desk, he detoured to Kate's. He stopped, and stirring the sugar into his coffee, he seriously said, "If he hurts you, Beckett, so much as messes with you, I promise you, I will go take him down." He nodded.

"You're suggesting there is a he, Espo. Anyway, I have a gun and I can take care of myself."

He smirked and turned about enough to see Ryan who was anxiously tidying his desk.

"I'm only a call away," he said, "Is Castle coming back or did you shake him off?"

Kate felt her cheeks heat up, when she thought about how much his body had trembled while she had been pleasuring the author, "Oh, I think I shook him up, off."

"He was fun to have around," Esposito replied totally missing the error she had said.

"This is a Precinct, not a playground," she reminded deciding it was time to end the conversation before she spilled to the guys."

Beckett continued with her paperwork. The team needed to get the file wrapped up and signed off by the Captain so they could take a couple of well earned days off. She settled into writing her reports.

The Captain arrived just about 10.00 am, after an early and lengthy meeting at 1PP. He muttered a good morning to everyone on his way into the office. Beckett, distracted by his arrival, saw him pull out his laptop

"Beckett. My office. Now!"

Startled, she closed the file she was writing in, and looked to the boys who lifted their gaze to her. She signaled she had no idea. She stood and hiked it into Montgomery's office.

She hung onto the door frame, "Sir?"

Montgomery gave Beckett the once over then said, "I just got a call from the Mayor."

Beckett stepped right into the room and waited for the Captain to continue. The Mayor? That was unusual.

"Apparently, you have a fan."

"A fan, sir?"

"Rick Castle. Seems he's found the main character for his next set of novels. A tough but savvy female detective."

"I'm flattered?" She kind of asked, wondering how the hell she actually felt about the news. The writer hadn't said a word about it when they had been together at dinner. He hadn't mentioned anything all night. It made her feel a little nervous.

"Don't be. He says he needs to do research."

"Oh no." Kate stated.

"Oh yes." The Captain confirmed, watching a mini-breakdown take place within the detective. It was amusing him no end.

"No way." Kate said furrowing her brow.

"Beckett..." he warned.

Kate inhaled deeply, getting the feeling that she'd made a huge mistake last night, "He's like a nine year-old on a sugar rush... totally incapable of taking anything seriously." She swallowed, hearing her own lie. He had certainly taken his date with her seriously, and the parts when they had made love. He certainly did man up those times. She cleared her throat pushing those memories down where they were safe.

"He did help solve the case. And Beckett, when the Mayor's happy, I'm happy.

"How long, sir?"

Montgomery looked from Kate and nodded over her shoulder. "That's up to him."

Kate followed her Captain's gaze, her eyes widening when she clapped eyes on Rick Castle, the man she had been straddled upon about six hours ago, who was sitting on the edge of her desk.

Castle grinned and waved then continued to talk with the boys. Beckett turned away showing Montgomery her _son-of-a-bitch_ expression, but there was a hint of a smile. Montgomery missed it because he was walking to his desk.

"Oh, no, Sir."

"This will be good for you, Beckett. You now have a partner to work with."

"Sir, I have Esposito and Ryan."

"And now Castle." He said.

"Is this even allowed? A writer following a cop?"

"If the Mayor says so and the Mayor says so. Castle needs to sign a waiver the NYPD lawyer is drafting up as we speak, and I've been advised that Castle's lawyer will be here within the hour. Let them use a room. So, you have yourself a new Partner, Beckett. Don't let him get shot on his first case, will you."

"I'll make every effort, Sir," she replied with gritted teeth.

"While you're waiting, you'd better give him a debrief on health and safety, bullying all the induction stuff."

"Yes, Sir. Excuse me."

She left the office and paced rapidly to her desk. She grabbed Castle's left forearm. "Come with me, now." She kept going.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Rick stood off the desk, looking at the detectives in confusion as he was dragged by Kate into the break room. She closed the door behind him. Two uniforms ran through the other door closing that door behind them which caused Esposito and Ryan to laugh.

Ryan leaned toward Esposito. "Hey Dude, do you reckon those two hooked up last night?"

Espo's eyes widened in disbelief. "Beckett and Castle? No."

"Who else would it be?"

"Yeah, well Castle sure as hell likes Beckett, but she's not one bit interested in him. Says he's a pain in the ass."

"I'm willing to put money on this," Ryan muttered.

"I'm in."

They were facing off. Kate wanted to kiss Castle. Kate wanted to shoot Castle. Kate also wanted to fuck Castle's brains out - again. Kate wanted Castle out of the Precinct - immediately. The emotions were confusing as hell. Her brain was reeling. Her body was craving. "What were you thinking, Castle?" She hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"Urrrghhh," she grumbled in frustration. She turned away to make a fresh pot of coffee.

"What?"

"You went to the Mayor so you could shadow me?" She filled the pot with water.

He nodded, "Yeah, great idea right?"

"No." The water was poured into the container in the coffee percolator.

"Why not?"

"I can't be working with you because of last night."

"Who knows about last night but us? Did you spill to Lanie, or the guys?

"No. No! I don't tell them my personal stuff," she said glancing up to the window to see what the boys were doing. They were watching them. She almost whispered, "I've told no one. What about you?"

"I've told no one. I swear. Call me selfish but I wanna keep what we did last night to myself for a while. It was magical."

Kate flipped her hair behind her ear, feeling flustered and turned on by his comment about their night. At the same time her cheeks caught fire. He was right. Magical was an insult. Blissful, heavenly. Divine. She could go on. She fitted in a momentary glance of his face, lingering on his eyes and those lips she had kissed most of the night. The skin around her own mouth was irritated this morning by his whiskers. "Me too," she said, glancing between his eyes and lips. "I wanna keep us a secret too."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I cannot work with you."

"You can't or you won't?" He asked suddenly serious, "You don't wanna do detective work with me?"

"I want to. I can't. We're not permitted to have relationships within a partnership."

"Beckett, I have my lawyer meeting the NYPD's lawyer in about five minutes. If I can't shadow you then I'm happy to be …"

"Stop Castle." She turned to face him.

"Listen Kate. How about we let the lawyers meet. We had some fun last night…"

"All night," she squeaked out, smiling.

He smiled too, "Agreed. And it was awesome, but let's keep it between us. You continue to act like you hate me and I will continue to be me."

Kate grunted.

"No one will notice," he said, "We can be discreet for as long as we need to be. Can we give it a shot?"

A coy smile appeared on Kate's face and her eyes glistened, "Are you suggesting we have a secret love affair?"

Rick smiled, licked his lips, wishing he could take this woman right now. "I am."

"Tell no one?"

"Not a soul."

She thought about that. "It could be fun," she suggested.

"It will be fun. By the way, what happened with your text earlier?"

"My text?"

"Like it was half way done and you sent it."

"Oh yeah, sent it by accident."

"Hell. What were you gonna say?"

"I don't remember, Castle."

"What the hell?" He frowned.

"Castle, if we keep this a secret it will be so hard."

"Beckett, I wanna do what we did last night again," he whispered. He was still physically smarting, in a good way, from their all night rendezvous, and he could see the faint rash surrounding her mouth and down the side of her neck, that she had tried to conceal with make up. He could see the rash, because he knew it was there, had laughed at it earlier that day.

Forgetting where she was, she coyly smiled and said, "Me too."

"Well, I'm prepared to fly under the radar and pretend until we don't need to anymore."

Kate thought about it for several seconds. "It might be fun hiding a relationship. Ok. I'm in but we need to talk it through later and, out of here," she said indicating she didn't want Esposito and Ryan knowing with a wave of a hand in their general direction.

Rick glanced out the window at the detectives who were badly faking work, "Deal. Our aim is to never let those two figure it out as they orbit you."

Beckett smirked, "You're kidding, right."

"Seriously. The coffee is ready, and the Police lawyer is here." He held out his hand, which confused Kate but he urged her to take his hand like a hand shake. "Then this is a deal. The beginning of the secret life of us." He gave her hand a shake.

She stopped their hands, "What if us doesn't work?"

"Then we make us work as friends. Like if we get to the point we need a therapist, we go to fix it. Promise? I'm your partner now, for better or worse."

"I guess." She dropped her hand, sighted Montgomery waving at her to follow him. "We have to go over there, Rick."

Rick's phone started to sound with an incoming call. "You go. I'll make the coffee and take this call," he looked to the phone, "It's my lawyer."

She gave him a timid smile and a nod then backed off and left the breakroom, putting a little pressure on the gas when the Captain summoned her with a sharp call of her surname. They entered the meeting room where the NYPD lawyer was pulling out papers and files from a well worn briefcase. Kate shook the hand of a balding man in his mid-forties in a greyish suit that had seen better days. It was also in need of a dry clean.

She rubbed her nose, glanced out the doorway to see Castle approaching with two mugs of coffee. She wasn't sure she could fake this without someone figuring out they were sleeping together. She feared they would slip up, say something that would cause people to speculate.

The writer walked into the room, giving Kate a cautious glance. She instantly set the look of despise on her face which caused him to give a slight nod of approval. He handed her the mug, choosing to ignore the look.

"Take a seat, Mr Castle. We have a few papers to sign here."

"Ok," he glanced between Montgomery, Beckett and the lawyer, then sat himself at the conference table, setting his phone down in front of him. He cast his eyes over a stack of documents, the excitement of this adventure fading a little when he saw the amount of paperwork. Across from him, the humorless, suited lawyer waited for Rick to settle in.

"Let's get on with it," Rick said with a smirk. "We could be chasing murderers." His eyes shot to Beckett's and he got to see them roll upwards, not much differently to how they had in her bed. Images of her writhing beneath him, making those delightful noises entered his mind. He took a deep breath, suppressing those thoughts for later. No naughty thoughts about Beckett permitted while in the Precinct.

The lawyer interrupted him, "You understand that by signing these documents, you'll be waiving a number of legal rights in exchange for the opportunity to accompany and observe Detective Beckett in her duties as an officer for the NYPD?"

"Wow," Castle mumbled, distracted by his phone that he brought a little closer.

"Something wrong, Mr. Castle?" The lawyer sat back a little impatient by the writer's inability to concentrate.

"Yeah." He held up his phone. "Do either of you get any bars in this room?"

Beckett, who had resorted to leaning against a nearby wall with the arms crossed, shot him a look. "Castle," she warned.

He focused on the detective when he said, "It's just weird not to get cell service in a police station. I mean, it'd be so much easier to get your one phone call, right? Sorry." He turned his attention back to the paperwork.

The lawyer said, "Be advised that once you sign, if you get injured, you cannot sue the city. If you get shot, you cannot sue the city. If you get killed..."

"My lifeless remains cannot sue the city?" Rick inquired, genuinely interested in hearing the answer.

"Your heirs, Mr. Castle."

Frustrated, Beckett asked, "Do I have to wait for him to sign or can I shoot him now?"

The lawyer glanced at the Detective, then returned his attention to the writer, "Mr. Castle, these waivers are serious business. Perhaps you'd feel more comfortable referring the matter to your attorney."

He smirked at the lawyer, "Are you kidding? He'd never let me sign these," Castle pulled out his pen, "Luckily, his job is to get me out of trouble, not stop me from getting into it."

Beckett was annoyed, and pacing the room, "Isn't your book coming out soon? Don't you have to be somewhere?"

"Probably. But here's more fun," he calmly replied with a quirky smile. She really was a good actress or she was genuinely pissed at him. It was actually hard to tell.

Beckett paused from pacing when her phone rang, and too quickly she answered, "Beckett... Where? I'm on my way." Beckett hung up the call and headed toward the door.

"Hey... Where are you going?" Rick called after her.

"I have work to do, Castle." The detective answered with a clipped tone.

"What? We have a case?"

She held onto the door, "I have a case. You have paperwork." She pouted her lips, teasing him and with that she shot out the door.

Castle turned to the lawyer. "Three hundred bucks for a phone and she gets the bars." Rick said with a frown.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Detective Beckett entered the laundry room glancing about. Esposito and Ryan were standing beside a wall of driers and a woman probably in her mid seventies, was seated in a plastic chair. A paramedic was attending the woman, overseeing her with a portable oxygen set up.

Ryan saw Beckett enter, stepped to her, as she scanned the room.

"So?" Beckett asked of Detective Ryan.

"Mrs. Rosenberg. Nine E. Comes down to put her clothes in the drier, finds it's occupied. Comes down a half hour later and she's had enough. Decides to take matters into her own hands."

Beckett tilted her head in disbelief, particularly at the age and fragility of the old lady seated on the plastic chair sucking the oxygen via a mask over her face. "C'mon. You're telling me an old lady killed someone over a busy drier?" She hissed.

"What?" Ryan asked in disbelief, "No. She just got tired of waiting around, so she opened the drier to take the person's clothes out."

Beckett and Ryan reach the open drier at the same time. Both lean toward the opened doorway and peer inside the confined drum. The body of a woman in her twenties, fully clothed in jeans and a T-shirt was cramped awkwardly inside on a next of a little boy's clothing.

Ryan continued, "Finds Miss Fluff and Fold instead."

Beckett took a closer look and said, "No blood."

Esposito appeared and peered into the drier, "Now if that's not a cautionary tale about poking through someone else's laundry, I don't know what is."

"Dude, there's an etiquette involved." Ryan debated. "If the clothes were dry, Mrs. Rosenberg had every right to put them in a basket. Now, if you're gonna tell me she folded the clothes, then it gets kinda creepy.

"Sorry, but you start rooting through my underwear without invitation? I'm gonna consider that a serious breach of hygiene." Espo remarked.

"Thought you went commando," Beckett bounced right back, the two of them locking eyes with a silent stir of each other.

"Alright, let's get her out of there with a little dignity. And get CSU. down here," Detective Beckett told the boys, "I want blood samples from the edge of this table and that bleach bottle sent to the lab." She took a moment to breathe and think. "Also, photos and prints; not that it's gonna do us much good in a public area... I assume she lived in the building?"

"Worked. Twelve F. She's the nanny." Ryan answered.

"I'll head up there and see what I can find." Beckett said nodding to the detectives as she departed.

A couple of minutes later, the bell tinged and the elevator doors opened on the 12th floor. Beckett went to step out and unexpectedly saw Castle leaning against a wall unit, seemingly patiently waiting for her.

"Thought you ditched me back at the precinct, didn't you?" He said.

Beckett's eyes widened a little and her right arm shot up to block the closing door. She stepped out of the elevator and stopped right in front of the author.

Rick smirked, amused by the Detective's expression. She was floored. "C'mon," he challenged, "Nanny McDead's found on spin dry and you didn't think your Captain would let me in on that story?"

She had a bit of a jiggle on the go, perhaps out of frustration, nervousness, good chance it was to have him, or she needed to use the bathroom. He wasn't sure because she was so damn hard to read, and incredibly cute the way she contained her emotions. He went with Option C. She wanted him.

Beckett replied, "You're right, Castle," she paused, maintaining eye contact, "My bad-", she cut herself off then turned to her right walking off.

Rick cleared his throat, and held out his right hand, looking down at the floor as she turned about wondering what he was objecting to. She paused, closed fists now seeing his issue, then proceeded to walk in the direction he indicated. He smiled and raised his eyes to hers and then fell in beside her.

"So, exactly how long can I expect you to be shadowing me on my cases like this?" She asked.

"Hard to say. You know when I'm writing a new character, there's no telling how long it'll take for inspiration to strike."

"Thought I was your inspiration, Castle."

"Oh, you are, Detective, and in so many ways." He replied experiencing a flash back to the night before when she had been straddling his hips. He'd been deep inside her gazing up at her beautiful naked body, the lamp casting light and shade over her, her teeth biting her bottom lip, her hair roughed up. The whole image was burned in his memory forever.

"Well then, your _inspiration_ might strike you sooner than you think," she curtly replied snapping him from his thoughts, then she shot a warning look as she stopped in front of the door tagged 12-F. She knocked firmly on the door.

Rick was amused by her tone, then ignoring it said, "Nanny's name was Sara Manning and she worked for the Petersons for about two years." He saw the look of question she had, and added quietly but smugly, "The doorman's a huge fan of my work."

Beckett shook her head in exasperation, just as Claudia Peterson answered the door.

Beckett held up her badge.

"Mrs Peterson? Kate Beckett. NYPD. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about Sara Manning."

"Yes. Of course. Please come in." Claudia opened the door, Beckett entered.

Castle followed pausing to introduce himself, "Hi. Richard Castle. Just... N-Y."

Beckett and Castle made themselves comfortable on arm chairs in the living room of the apartment that Howard and Claudia Peterson resided in. The furniture was classical, exhibited money. Claudia came from her son's bedroom, pulling the door to so the boy wouldn't hear adult conversation.

"We still haven't told him what happened. We just don't know how," Claudia said as she came to the living area.

Howard said, "Sara was very close with him. She just has a gift with kids. You know."

"She was such a lovely girl." Claudia finished.

"I'm very sorry," Kate said sincerely.

"The school called me at my office when Sara didn't come to pick up Justin. I tried her cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. Then I tried here and the machine picked up. So, I hopped in a cab and went to the school. When we got home, the police were already here." Claudia explained.

Beckett, seated on a brown armchair, still in her red coat asked. "So, when was the last time you saw Sara?"

Claudia replied, "My husband saw her last night when he got home."

Howard said, "We take Justin to school every morning. We're usually gone by the time she gets here."

"And what time is that?"

Claudia said, "Today, it would have been eleven. Sara straightens up, does Justin's laundry, then picks him up from school about two. One of us is then home for dinner. Last night, it was my husband's turn."

"So, you were the last one to see Sara?" Beckett asked.

Replied Howard, "I guess so."

Rick sat forward, "Did she mention any problems she was having, maybe a boyfriend?

Beckett shot Rick a look, upset he was asking questions. She was the cop. He was meant to keep quiet and observe.

Claudia seemed to become a little unnerved glancing to her husband. "Sara's boyfriend?"

"The doorman said the police told them it was a break-in, that it was probably a stranger who did this." Mr Howard said.

"We can't be sure what happened." Beckett replied.

Castle said, "Well maybe not. But statistically speaking? Much greater likelihood she knew her attacker."

"Oh my god," Claudia exclaimed a hand going to her throat, her eyes once again to her husband.

"Again." Beckett pressed, "We can't be sure who was involved."

"But, she did have a boyfriend," Rick insisted.

Howard nodded, "Brent. But they broke up."

Castle asked, "When was that?"

"Maybe a month ago, but Sara never said there was any trouble or anything like that."

Beckett said, "Brent. That's his name. Sir?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"What about a last name?"

Claudia thought about it, "Ah, I don't think Sara ever mentioned it." She looked to her husband who shook his head.

He said, "To me either."

"Thank you both so much for your time." Beckett stood up and looked to Castle, motioning it was time for them to leave.

"Well, of course." Claudia said.

"Let's go, Castle." Beckett said in a tone that implied they needed to leave soon.

"That's it?" He asked in surprise.

"That's it," she confirmed then looked to Claudia. "Oh, is there any chance you know how I can reach Sara's parents?"

"Oh god, I hadn't even thought about that. I'm sorry, but we don't even have their number," Claudia said clearly feeling terrible.

Howard added, "They live down in Atlanta. Sara was just with them over Christmas."

"What about Sara's things?" Beckett said.

"There's her bag and her jacket." She motioned to black bag on a chair.

"Maybe I can take these with me and check her cell phone," Beckett said, glancing to Rick.

Moments later in the elevator, Kate handed the handbag over to Rick for him to hold up. She had the jacket slung over her right arm and had already checked the pockets of it only to find rolled up, and scrunched up tissues, most likely used on the kids.

"Why couldn't we stick around?" Rick calmly asked, "I had a lot more questions." He watched her fish about.

"Because I actually like to investigate things myself first. Besides, neither of them is going anywhere." She's rifled through the bag unzipping compartments until she located the wallet. "There's no cell phone in here."

"Maybe it's in the laundry room or in the drier?"

"If it is then the CSU will find it." Beckett opened the wallet and checked out the cards. She said, "She's still got her Georgia license." She showed it to Rick.

"Are you really the one who has to call her parents?" He softly asked.

"Easier to write about than to live through, huh Castle?" The elevator tinged. He stared at her face in thought as the door slid open.

"It must be hard. Makes it real." He watched her walk ahead of him then followed. He closed the bag but continued to carry it as Beckett finished her search of the wallet.

"There's nothing in here to help us." She said and reached for the bag. She put the wallet back in the bag and secured it.

He glanced to the time, "Are you hungry, Beckett?"

"Getting there. Do you have something in mind?"

"I do. I certainly owe you a meal for your hospitality last night."

"I could say the same thing." She said giving him a smile, gazing at his lips that had done some magical things to her body. "You're quite generous." She then bit her lip trying to hold back a smile, thinking about how she had crashed last night. Her eyes glistened.

"Why, thank you …" He smiled looking over face, "Please… don't do that."

Her eyes widened, smiled disappeared, "What?"

"That thing with the lips, especially this morning. Last night. Perfect. Today, right here." He pressed his lips then whispered, "Dangerous."

"Oh, sorry."

"Later will be ok, or we rent a room for lunch."

She ignored him, "We'll meet the boys back at the precinct after lunch. Food lunch." She said glancing to him when he chuckled, "I will text them. Tell them how much of a pain in the ass you have been already today," she said with a smartass smirk.

"Make it genuine," he commented, noting how quickly Beckett moved on from the interview with the family. One minute she had been the serious concerned cop and now she was smiling and on to the next thing. "Because those detectives are onto to you. Espo knows you got laid, but he's damned if he knows who it was. He thought it was hilarious when I suggested it could have been me. He laughed his ass off."

"You seriously said that?"

"Of course. Wave it under their noses. You have them believing you despise me so I can joke. So Beckett, make it genuine," he pressed waving his hand at her phone.

Kate laughed.

"Oh, I will. Where have you got in mind to eat?"

"There a little place a few blocks up, cops don't go there so we will be safe."

"Cool. You know Castle, you're gonna be spent just keeping this relationship on the quiet. Won't your mother and daughter figure it out?"

"Alexis might, but my mother is too self indulging to notice my comings and goings. Anyway, she's accustomed to seeing her son on page 6 of the Ledger with women on my arms so she …."

"About that," Kate interrupted, "How many have you had?"

Confused, he asked, "How many?"

"Women," she snapped back.

"Oh! You want my number already?" He laughed in disbelief. "You're jerking me, right?" He shot a look at her, noticed the locked jaw, her pressed lips. She was dead set serious.

"Well, no, but I've seen pictures of you on websites, the paper.…" she fiddled with the car keys, looking everywhere but at him. "With cantily clad girls."

"I see."

"I mean those bimbos," she managed to get out, "Just them."

His face softened in understanding and he lowered his head to meet her eyeline better. "Beckett, I can tell you. No, promise you," he stressed, "That about ninety five percent of those women are models my agent hired, to give me that playboy image. Yes, I meet women, but not those ones. It's all fake. I'm home with Alexis most nights."

Kate looked over his face, saw he was being honest. "Ok. What about the five per cent?"

"Trust you." He smirked, then replied, "I dated them once or twice. Kate, I've had plenty of women and I'm not gonna deny that, but not the models you see me with in the media."

"But if we're gonna do this, hide in this relationship, can you tell your agent you're not doing that any more, especially if its fake."

"Hey, I'll do anything. I don't want you upset about something that's made up." He gave her a smile.

"I do behave with jealousy sometimes. Just saying," she said, lifting the corner of her mouth up a fraction then.

He nodded in understanding. "Same," he replied, accepting her honesty with a confession of his own, then waited on the sidewalk while she walked to the driver's side of her unit. She unlocked and they got in the car.

"Are you good for soup? You look cold today?" He said, waving a finger at her red coat and dusty blue scarf.

"Yes. Soup would be good. So long as it comes with a big chunk of bread."

"Ok. Then I have just the right place. Pull out and keep going six blocks." He tugged on his seatbelt. "This thing we have Kate, it's very new and unique but we can't overthink it."

"What if one of us gets asked out on a date?"

"Politely decline. I do it all the time when I'm single."

Kate glanced from the road to her new partner, her new lover. Suddenly, it seemed very overwhelming. It was no longer just a great romp in the sack with a New York Times best seller. This was a guy, a regular guy and he had made it quite clear he wanted to date her. They had tumbled into a relationship overnight. Gone to bed single and it's seems woke up committed to being in a relationship. Her jaw closed, and she clenched her teeth. She watched the road ahead. Castle talked, about almost anything, oblivious to her minor nervous breakdown, as she drove the car under his directions.


	8. Chapter 8

_Because its Easter I've had some extra time to prepare another chapter. I'm working ahead on this and I must say its quite the challenge. I know its labeled Romance, but you will get a bit of angst and all the rest of it. After all its an exploration of them being together and hiding it._

 _Thank you for the reviews. Really like receiving them so the more the merrier._

 **Chapter 8**

They were well out of Beckett's usual stomping ground when they walked to the soup kitchen, which allowed her to let her guard down a bit. Castle pushed opened the door for her and she scooted inside the joint ahead of him, finding a restaurant full of hungry lunch time customers. The place was absolutely buzzing. Kate felt his hands slide around her hips as the two of them made their way through the huddle of customers buying take away. His touch calmed her without her even being aware he had that effect on her mood. She absently reached for and found the fingers of his right hand and took a hold as she led the way through the crowd to the order counter.

"Castle, where are we gonna eat?"

"We'll find a table. What do you want? The chicken noodle is excellent, and I think I will have that."

"Just order two of that please. Coffee too?"

"Of course." He wrapped his left arm around her slender waste, and closer to the order counter he pulled her back against him holding her for several seconds while they waited for the waitress to finish an order. Kate leaned into his body glancing over her shoulder to his eyes, and she smiled. She looked away searching for a vacant table. Luckily she sighted two people standing to leave..

"I see a table, Castle."

He let go of her. "Go get it. White bread?"

"Yes." She made her way through the crowded café to a table towards the rear of the cafe near a window to an alley way. A waitress was collecting the dirty dishes. Kate pulled off her coat and hung it over a chair. She kept looking back at the man she was with. She really liked him since going on a date with him. Sleeping with him had sealed it for Kate. It remained easy to pretend she didn't like him in public but she wasn't sure how long she could manage that. She sat at the freshly cleaned table and waited until he returned to her, carrying a metal table number post.

"Four," she said as he sat down opposite her.

"Yes, they won't be long. They only have to pour soup into a bowl. I bought a hot loaf. We can break it and dip it in. Butter too."

"Delicious. I love chicken soup when I'm unwell. My mom used to cook it for me those times."

"Do you know her recipe?"

"Yes." She smiled warmly, "She showed me how she prepared it from when I was quite young. She taught me to cook."

Rick raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by that mainly because her kitchen was empty of food. The utensils were certainly there, but nothing to cook a decent meal.

And then she added as if she read what he was thinking. "I don't really enjoy cooking for myself and because of our shifts and long hours, I don't keep food."

"Understandable. I have a child. Said child eats."

She laughed leaning over the small table toward him. He hadn't shaved and she wanted to reach out and touch his whiskered jaw. And she did. Her fingers stroked down his jaw, her nails lightly scratching his whiskers. "My lips are tender today," she said just loud enough for him to hear her over the general noise.

He chuckled and touched the left side of her mouth. "You have a little bit of a rash there, Detective. I hope it was worth it."

She blushed, "It was."

Their meals arrived on a tray carried by a waiter who set down the tray on the edge of the table. "Two chicken soups and a loaf of bread. Table four."

"Yes," they answered simultaneously, then glanced to each other, smiling.

"Thank you," Rick added.

"Coffees will arrive soon."

"Thanks," Kate said smiling to the waiter. She then turned her attention to rick. "Bon a petite."

"Yes, thank you."

They tucked into lunch with heathy appetites not saying a word for a few minutes.

Half way down her bowl, Kate said, "You're right, Rick, this soup is great."

"Certainly is. Does this count as a second date, Kate? I've been wondering whether it does. It's kind of a grey zone."

"We're eating lunch together." She thought about it, "I think its me and my partner grabbing lunch. My new work partner. I will hotly be denial about that in front of everyone. A date is, we meet somewhere, eat dinner and then maybe go to the movies."

"Or the bedroom."

"The couch."

"Back seat of the car."

"Roof top."

"Roof top? That's being brazen, Beckett. People might see you."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Give em somethin' to talk about, I guess." She smiled then bit off a chunk of bread."

Rick watched her eat, thinking about what that mouth had done to him during the night. "You eat well." He commented, waving at her bowl of soup. She had kept up with him, "I like that in a woman."

"Mmm. I tend to forget to eat. Lose track of time." She stirred the soup. "But this is great. What if your mother figures out we're dating?"

"She's too busy with Martha Rogers to worry about me. It will be Alexis."

"What if the guys do?"

Rick laughed, "Not a chance of that happening unless we get sprung." He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Can ask you something?"

"Personal or general?"

"Arr, it will fall in the personal category."

"Ok. Yes."

"Why don't you have a boyfriend? Like, you're gorgeous."

"Why don't you have a girlfriend? You're handsome and famous."

"In between." He shrugged, "Tired of dating until I met you."

"Same. Had boyfriend but he left the city for work."

"Do you have FF?"

"That's two questions, Rick."

He smiled, "Ok. Well, I don't."

Kate paused, thinking, then said, "I'm not into one night stands."

"Me neither."

For several seconds they paused and stared at each other, reading the others mind. Kate was first to look away, down at her food as she said, "Then I guess we're no longer single."

Rick swallowed, feeling his body react to Kate's comment with a mixture of pure fear and exhilaration. What was happening between them was very real.

Interruption occurred with the delivery of two large take away cups of coffee.

"I order take away because I figured we won't have time to drink here."

"Good idea," Kate replied.

They ate on, aware they were due back at the Precinct soon to catch up with Esposito and Ryan.

Castle and Beckett entered the bullpen from the elevator to find Captain Montgomery, Esposito and Ryan gathered around two monitors set up on Ryan's desk.

Rick said loud enough for the men to hear, "Three men huddled around a computer. I hope that's not porn. And if it is, I'd like in." They leaned in to see what they men were watching. One monitor had video footage a building's rear entrance; the other was footage from a bubble camera inside an elevator, which showed people coming and going.

Captain Montgomery said, "Esposito and Ryan pulled security tapes from the elevator and the building's rear entrance."

Ryan added, "Front door has a twenty-four hour doorman."

Esposito motioned to the monitor showing the inside of elevator. Castle silently noted the existence of a time and date stamp, running clock on the video.

Esposito said, "This is the elevator's cam. Victim gets on with the laundry basket. Goes down to the basement to put the kid's laundry into the washer. ... Few minutes later, she gets on, heads back upstairs to the apartment. Then about forty minutes later, she rides the elevator to the basement again.

"We're thinking probably to take the kid's clothes out of the washer and put them in the drier," said Ryan.

Montgomery added cheerfully, "Camera never picks her up again."

Esposito stops Sara's image. Castle studies it.

Ryan said, "Only other person who rides the elevator all the way to the basement during the next hour is the old lady who found the body."

Esposito nodded, fast forwarded the video to show Mrs Rosenberg getting off at the basement level.

"So, whoever attacked her had to have used the stairwell, otherwise the camera would have seen them." Beckett suggested.

Ryan picked up the Police file, ""We got three maintenance workers on duty that day. We're gonna run their names tonight."

"Why run only the building's workers? Why not all the neighbors?" Castle asked.

Curious, Beckett asked, "What are you basing that on?

"I'm basing it on the fact that a neighbor makes a better story," the writer said and saw the group roll their eyes, "C'mon. What do any of us know about our neighbors in this city? You think the guy who lived next door to Son of Sam knew he was living next to Son of Sam?"

Capt. Montgomery said, "He's right. Neighbors in Berkowitz's building had no idea he was the Son of Sam Killer."

Castle recognised he had piqued their interest. "Like... what do we know about the guy in eight B?

Beckett asked, now interested, "Who?"

"Eight B. The quiet type. The man who walks past you every day and you never notice. Only he noticed Sara. She was young, beautiful. The kind of girl he never stood a chance with." He nodded his head at Beckett, "We all know those girls, right?"

All of them looked at Beckett who served Castle with a smug look. She noticed that Ryan, Esposito, even Captain Montgomery were drawn in to Castle's story.

It was easy to see why. His voice was captivating, "At first, it was just a game. Learning her schedule, when she did the laundry, when she'd be alone. Until it became something more, something he couldn't control. He used the stairs, obviously, to avoid the elevator's camera. Then waited, concealed, in the shadows. And when she went inside that laundry room, he pounced."

The group was hanging on his every word.

"And now," Castle continued, "As he looked into her vacant, lifeless eyes, he wanted to tell her. He hadn't meant to kill her, that all he'd really wanted was to be noticed. That's when he felt the warmth of that drier against his skin. He took her limp body in his arms and gently placed her inside. When he found the quarter in his pocket, he nearly smiled at his good fortune, sliding it into the coin slot, buying himself the time to do what he'd always done best. Disappear."

A pin dropped would have been heard, the bullpen was so quiet. Everyone listened to Castle. But Castle's only been fucking with them and suddenly he shifts gears and returns to being affable.

"Just saying it's a better story."

Beckett almost can't hide her smile, as Castle walks away. She had enjoyed listening to him story tell and somewhere deep inside, mostly in her groin, it had turned her on. The dulcet tones of his voice, the way he engaged his audience. The team looked at one another: It almost made sense.

Montgomery ordered as he walked towards his office, "Let's see what we can find out about the neighbors. And someone better tell me who the hell lives in eight B."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Castle arrived home about 7 pm after he had left Beckett at her desk doing agonizing paperwork. There was a chance in hell he was going to get roped into doing paperwork.

Alexis was in the kitchen, cleaning dishes and loading the dishwasher. The loft smelt like home, of cooking and fragranced candles. However, he could also see as he approached the kitchen that the counters and stove were a mess.

"The place looks like Caligula just held a feast," He commented noting his daughter still had a lot to clean up alone.

"Dinner dishes." Alexis stated neutrally.

"Let me guess. Gram cooked."

Alexis smiled, pleased to see her father, not worried about the cleaning portion of meal making, "Chicken tikka masala."

He raised an eyebrow, kind of glad he'd missed out of his mother's cooking, "And where is Hurricane Martha?"

"In her room, taking a dramatic pause."

"And left the mess for someone else to clean up, as usual." Castle grabbed dishes from the counter to help with the clean up.

"I don't mind. Dinner was fun."

"And it's not her room. It's our guest room... even with that hideous bedspread she bought."

"If you're hungry, there's lots of left-overs." Alexis said ignoring her father's snide remarks. "You sound hungry."

"Thanks, but I grabbed a slice on my way home."

"You really are turning into a cop."

He grinned, "Yeah? You think so?"

"So, who got killed today?"

"The nanny."

"Do they know who did it?"

"Apparently in an actual homicide? They don't know who did it until after the guy gets caught," Rick said with a tone of enlightenment, as though he was offering her news that resolved a long standing myth.

Alexis smiled at her father's humour. "How come we never had a nanny?"

"Your mother and I decided that if someone was going to screw you up, we wanted it to be me," he replied, watching her expression change to a mixture of amusement and knowledge, "Only somehow you managed to turn out just fine."

They saw Martha heading down the stairs as they continued to clean the kitchen. "Ah, the prodigal son has returned from the night shift. Catch any _perps_ tonight, kiddo? I did an NYPD Blue once, remember?"

"You were the crazy homeless woman," Alexis replied.

"And some might say, still am," Castle interjected.

Martha made a face that indicated she was aware he was teasing, "Ha, ha."

"I was just asking Dad why we never had a nanny when I was little, Gram."

"Of course, I spared her tales of my own experience," Rick commented.

"Well, I had a real job as a working actress. You know, not all of us can sit at home with a keyboard and claim to be employed."

"Really? You had a nanny?" Alexis asked her father.

"They weren't called nannies then," Castle replied.

"What were they called?"

"Oh, I don't know..." he looked at Martha, "Alcoholics? Raving lunatics. Completely irresponsible middle aged women who were supposed to be taking care of me but watched day time television instead."

"Oh stop your whining." Martha waved an arm at him, dismissing his digs, "You didn't turn out half bad. And don't you forget the good half are my genes."

"Which is something I just have to take your word for, isn't it? But I wasn't looking for an apology, mother. Truth is, I got the plot to my first novel from One Life to Live."

Castle's cell phone rang out with the Dragnet theme. He checked the phone, smiled and took the call.

"Ah, Detective Beckett... Miss me already?"

"Funny Castle. Lanie called me. She has something off the body and wants me to meet her at the morgue. She's in the middle of the autopsy now."

"Really? They do them at night?"

"They sure do. So, you want to meet me there? I'm still at work."

"Yeah, sure. I'm just really touched you thought of me..." he half teased but said mainly so his family would think there remained a bit of a rift between him and the Detective.

"I don't want you there. Montgomery ordered me, that you're my partner…" Kate replied with a straight face, quietly staring at Ryan and Esposito who were listening to every word she said. "I've been told you're to be included in all police business, so I'm calling you."

Rick could even hear the pissed off, insubordinate tone in her voice. Geez she was good at faking it. "I see, you were ordered to call me. Well, either way, I can leave now." Rick replied sounding positive and friendly.

"Okay." She emphasized, "Well I guess I'll see you there in twenty."

Castle cut the call, pocketed the phone and said to Alexis. "Gotta go," he kissed Alexis on the side of her head, "I'd tell you to wait up, but you'll be asleep by eleven."

"Ten thirty. It's a school night."

Castle said to Martha, "You sure she has either one of our genes?" He kissed his mother and used the ploy to whisper to Martha: "Help her with the dishes, please."

"Just be careful, flatfoot." Martha replied, dismissing him.

"I can't believe I have to have him shadow me." Kate muttered as she slung the phone handle onto its cradle with a clunk. She had about ten more minutes before she needed to shift her ass to get to the morgue about the same time as Castle would arrive.

"Could look at it like he's a pet dog or something, Beckett. You don't have to clean up after him," Ryan said teasing her. Esposito had a chuckle.

"I'm cleaning believe me. Why don't you guys have him shadow you." Internally she was already excited about seeing Castle again, but she had to act out this reluctance to accept him tagging along.

"Because it's you he likes, Beckett," Esposito said and Ryan nodded.

She elected to growl, then scoffed, "He doesn't like me. I'm not a bimbo like those women you see him with in the Ledger and on his website." She didn't have any control over her cheeks heating up and probably turning pink.

Esposito laughed, astonished by her knowledge of the writer, "You really are a serious fan, Beckett! Got all his books, have them signed, know way too much about him …"

Kate flung a gummy bear across the room aimed at Esposito. It would have been a direct hit to his forehead had he not caught it. "What I know is he's seriously like a Labrador …he's cocky, thinks he's great…"

"He's handsome and he likes you." Montgomery chipped in as he slung his suit jacket over his shoulder and turned out his office light, "And I think you might like him more than you're letting on, Beckett."

The men laughed.

Kate felt her cheeks catch fire. Of course, she was blushing. She was trying her hardest to give off how much she loathed the writer but everyone could see through it. "No Sir, certainly not,"

"Good night Detectives. Its time you all knocked off and got some rest."

"I'm meeting the writer at the morgue."

"Have a nice date with him, Beckett."

"Sir!." Wide eyed, Kate stared at the two detectives who laughed like crazy at Beckett's expression.

"Have some fun with the man." Montgomery called back, "You only live once and its clear you like each other."

Kate opened her mouth to object, but nothing came out. She had nothing.

Esposito said, "Better tell your mouth its hanging open, Chica."

Her mouth closed, then she started, "Don't you guys know how much I despise having that writer, that playboy follow me?" She grabbed her coffee mug, stood up and paced to the break out room, her heels heavy on the floor boards. The guys laughed harder.

Detective Beckett waited for Castle at the entrance to the Coroner's building. Leaning against the railing, she chewed a piece of gum, staring at him as he walked from a silver sedan to her side. She certainly liked the look of Richard Castle, and she was still kind of floating around inside her bubble of after sex glow. She thought about the way his hips rolled when he fucked her, how much he enjoyed kiss. Almost as much as she did. She pushed her hips against the railing pushing off it, as he finished his approach. "Well, Castle, have you ever seen a real autopsy?"

"Nope, spoken to ME's but never had the need." He stopped right in front of her barely leaving six inches between them. He gazed from her eyes to her mouth and back. "Hello," he softly greeted, glanced about them then said in a low voice, "I really wanna kiss you right now."

She smiled, "Me too. But, we can't. Lip stick." She pointed at her lips.

"Oh. Pink. Not really my color, Honey."

"And Lanie is pretty switched on, so we have to do our utmost to keep it cool in there, alright?"

"I can do it, and you're doing quite well with letting everyone know you dislike me."

She grinned, "Really?"

"Even got me fooled, baby."

"Well, good. But I think Montgomery has caught on. After I called you, the guys were giving me heaps about you."

He chuckled, "Really? Maybe you need to hate me a bit more."

"I should do. Let's go."

Together, Beckett and Castle entered the ME's office. Beckett flashed her brass to the security guy who waved her past.

"Can I use the men's room before we go in, Beckett?"

"Sure, I'll be up there." She pointed ahead of them, and continued walking as Rick disappeared inside the men's bathroom. Outside the autopsy room, Kate dressed in a blue smock over her clothes and placed safety glasses on. It was late and she was a little impatient to grab some dinner and head home. She had started a new novel and wanted to read it in the bath tub. She handed a folded smock and glasses to Castle once he caught up with her.

"Put these on before you go in," she ordered.

"Really? I thought cops just stand over the body eating ham and cheese sandwiches, cracking jokes. You know, hard-core gallows humor."

Beckett shook her head, and gave him a look of disbelief, "You're kidding me, right. And don't even answer that, Castle."

Beckett walked inside the examination room ahead of Castle, where she found Dr Parish working on the victim, Sara Manning. The deceased had been washed and the body cavity was exposed. For a moment or two Kate was glad she hadn't eaten yet, as it still turned her stomach seeing dead bodies on the slab. It was worse than at the crime scene and the smell of the morgue. It was so hard to get it off. Perfume didn't work.

"Hi Lanie, so what can you tell us?" Beckett asked standing alongside the examination table. She glanced back to the doorway wondering where the writer was now.

"Well, the head trauma definitely contributed to the death. The force of the blows resulted in significant cerebral hemorrhaging."

Castle burst into the room, the door swinging hard, still fiddling with the safety glasses and tangled in the smock.

"Mr Castle. Nice to see you again," greeted Dr Parish. Kate noticed that Lanie liked the writer, seemed to appreciate his rugged good looks. She had the greatest urge to ask Lanie if she liked the two day stubble but she clamped her jaw shut. She had to.

Rick smiled, "I'd say the same but my glasses are scratched. How often do they let you replace these things?"

"Not everyone has your budget, Castle," Kate replied curtly then turned her attention to Lanie, "So, what killed her?"

Lanie absorbed the body language going on between her two guests. There was something brewing between them for sure. Distracted by their obvious chemistry, she began to speak slower than normal, "I'd say she was struck in the head with the bleach bottle, then fell forward and hit her temple on the edge of the table. That caused temporal bleeding." Lanie stepped over to a counter and picked up a glass slide. "Without medical attention, she didn't stand a chance but what I thought you'd find really interesting is the fact that she had sex within hours of her death."

"Sex?" Beckett inquired, thinking about last night, then felt her cheeks flush because he was there and Lanie didn't know about any of it. The doctor was excellent at reading Kate.

Castle replied, "I'll explain how that works later."

Kate gave him a look.

Lanie continued, "Might have even been within a few minutes of the murder. Heat from the drier makes it hard to pinpoint."

"But you're saying she was raped?" Kate asked.

"Hard to determine. There were no vaginal lacerations or presence of any semen."

"So, what was the evidence of sex".

"Traces of a spermicide, Kate." The doctor replied, then explained because she could see Kate wasn't keeping up, "The guy wore a condom."

"Really has been a while, hasn't it," Rick remarked, almost unable to maintain a serious expression, especially with the look Kate slung at him.

Lanie glanced between the two of her living guests, then said with a little hesitance, "I mean, it's possible it was a rape, but my best guess is..."

"That she knew the guy," Beckett finished.

Lanie nodded. Something was nagging at her but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Kate was really off her mark tonight but she knew it had been a long day for the team. Espo had texted her before saying how tired he was. Beckett looked tired and hungry.

"Okay Lanie, well I'm calling it a night. I'm buggered. C'mon Castle. Night Lanie." Kate quickly wrapped up, sensing that Lanie was on to them. It was therefore necessary to escape before the interrogation began. She turned about and commenced towards the exit.

"Why don't you two go for a drink and get to know each other." Lanie suggested.

"Would love to." Rick answered.

"Castle?" Beckett called. Rick shrugged his shoulders then hurried after Beckett, waving the doctor goodbye. "Good night, Lanie."

"I've got money on you two." Lanie shouted.

Rick caught up with Beckett, falling in beside her and together they dumped the smocks and glasses, then headed out of the building. They spoke quietly to ensure no one working late over heard them.

"How do you think we did?" Kate asked.

"I thought you were gonna cave when the subject of sex and condoms came up. Your brain was spinning out of control. All I had in my head was six. We used six of the bastards."

Kate playfully hit him on his shoulder, then smiled at him as they passed through the exit, "Yeah, we did."

"Still plenty of fight left in this old tiger."

"Castle." She laughed, and couldn't help but glance down at his groin, aware there was plenty of fight left in the old tiger. He was certainly a stayer.

"What are you thinking, Beckett?"

"Never you mind, Castle." She lifted her chin higher, continued to walk, while she thought about the six times she had been properly laid. He was a big guy and he had the ability to support her weight in addition to his own. He'd put her in positions that ….

"I know what you're thinking about Beckett." He grinned like a smart ass, "Six, baby."

"You could have done better," she teased.

"We only had six."

"Sure." She paused at the door way, ensure she couldn't be overhead then murmured close to him, "So, had we had a dozen, are you implying….?"

He laughed out loud. "Geez you're a tease."

She giggled and pushed open the door. Once they were out near her car they paused again, and Kate asked, "Will I see you later?"

"Your place?"

She nodded, bit her lips then smiled, "Yep. Can you stay the night?"

"Love to."

"Cool. I'll see you soon." Kate glanced about them and when she saw it was safe she blew him a kiss.

Rick smiled, enchanted by her behavior then waited for Kate to be safely inside her car before he left for his vehicle. She had started up the Crown and he heard it idling for the time it took him to reach his car. She pulled out into the traffic and gave a wave as she passed his vehicle.


	10. Chapter 10

_We jump into M territory here, hence have switched this story to an M rating._

 _Thank you for the Reviews and PM you have sent. Yes, I do get a kick out of feedback._

 _Further along in this story I have to deal with the story line that Rick sleeps with Meredith in "Always Buy Retail" so if you have any workable ideas of how to successfully weave this into the story, please share._

 _Getting back to this chapter, if you don't want to read the fluff, then stop reading after RC says, "_ _Shut up and make love to me," he ordered…._

 **Chapter 10**

A light tap on the door had Kate throw aside a novel she was trying hard to read. For some reason her mind wouldn't absorb the sentences. She sprung off the couch, and hurried bare footed across the living room. There was a quick pause to check who was at the door, saw a blue eye closely peering into the fish eye. She rolled her eyes. Castle. Her body sexually woke up. Man, she wanted him. His proximity drove her body crazy. Had driven her crazy all day.

She opened the door, shyly smiling. "Hey."

"Hi. You alone still?" He asked his eyes scanning her from head to toe. She wore a pink night shirt with something written in French down it. It was short, glorious short. He could see her thighs. Her short hair was barely up in a ponytail, with strands of hair hanging everywhere. It wasn't long enough to tie up but she looked cute.

"Mm." She nodded and stepped back to let him inside.

"I escaped. My mother is home and Alexis is studying."

"Good." Beckett grabbed the cuff of his shirt and dragged him inside the apartment.

"I couldn't wait to get here, Honey. C'mere." With his spare arm, he reached about her waist, drew her close and smacked a playful kiss on her lips, releasing a moan. "You okay?"

Kate laughed, held him to regain her balance when he let her go, "I'm fine. No one saw you?"

"No." He glanced at his watch, "Its very late. People are in bed, Beckett." He put the overnight on the counter then turned to Beckett grinning boyishly, "I came with gifts."

"Like what?"

"Like-," he unzipped the bag and brought out two phones, "Two burners, so no one can trace our calls and dirty texts. If we need to we can toss the SIM cards and get new ones." He held up the phones, "Black or white?"

"White, I can't believe you got us phones!"

"Secret mission calls for secret communications." He passed her the one then reached for another item in the bag.

He waved the blue box of condoms at her. "And these are for us to work our way through until we're ready to go without ….." He saw her expression turn serious. That worried him. "No pressure, I just don't want us making any mistakes while we're still finding our way through this."

"I get it. I feel the same," Kate replied, checking the phone out and almost smirking about their rapid hunt to find condoms last night. "It was crazy last night the way we hunted for the condoms." The bedroom had virtually been tossed until Rick had found half a dozen stashed in a sock drawer. They were out of a date by a few months but had done the job. All of them.

"This time though, don't hide them in that special place you'll forget. Let's go for the second drawer on my side of the bed where the toys are."

"Funny, Castle."

"They're ribbed too." He pointed at the writing on the box.

"Thank you."

"For what? You prefer ribbed?"

"No. Yes. But for being responsible and considerate."

"You're welcome." He smiled slinging the box back into his bag.

"And, Rick, I should probably tell you, I am on the pill."

"Good point and useful to know," he commented.

"Hang on, you mentioned your side of the bed. Do we have sides already? After one night?" She asked her brow furrowing.

"Well it seems so," he casually replied.

"Like, twenty four hours ago, we were still on our first date, Castle."

"Best date eva."

Kate immediately smiled. "Told you. I can't believe we have sides already," she said as she picked up the box of condoms and turned it over in her hands, scanning the labelling.

"Kate." He pulled her attention from the box, took it from her and returned it to the bag, "Every time we finished up last night, you were to my right wherever we were. Your stuff is on the right night stand, and I happen to sleep on the left side of the bed at home."

Kate thought about it, then smiled, "I think you're correct. Settled."

"Good, I also bought these." He pulled out a grocery bag that contained a carton of milk, a bag of sugar, coffee beans and a few other things. He placed them in the fridge on the top shelf.

"Castle. We could have gone out for coffee in the morning…."

"I'll make it for you before I leave …. My mother will be up for Alexis in the morning so I don't have to be home."

"So, I get to sleep in and wake up to see you." She hooked her arm over his shoulder drawing him in for a kiss he keenly gave. "Why don't you take the box and your bag to the bedroom. I'll turn off the lights and meet you there." Beckett said. "It's getting really late. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Rick snorted, "Same," he said, "Do you mind if I leave a few things here in your bathroom?"

"Knock yourself out. Castle, how long are we gonna do this?"

"I don't know. Why don't we take it day by day and see how long we can keep it a secret so you don't get into trouble at work?" With his bag under his arm he walked to the bedroom. Kate was right behind him and soon followed him to the bedroom.

"Sounds like a plan." She pulled the bedsheets down. Rick placed his bag on the trunk at the end of the bed, then went to the en suite taking a toothbrush and new tube of paste with him.

Ready for bed, Kate climbed in between the sheets. All the while she heard him messing around in the bathroom, her tummy was full of butterflies and flip flopping about in anticipation of him joining her. It was hard to believe that Richard Castle was in her home and she was about to spend her second night with the author. And she wasn't fan girling, much. It was imperative that she got past this celebrity thing. In his presence, she pretended she was completely nonchalant about his public image but in secret she was totally chuffed she was dating, well sleeping with, a celebrity of sorts. Before she had much more time to dwell on the social aspects of their relationship, he rushed back into the bedroom, a boyish grin on his face and boxers on his hips.

Every logical thought vacated her mind when her eyes clapped onto his bare and impressive chest. She cleared her throat. Her groin increased in heat.

Seemingly oblivious to the reaction his presence had caused Kate, he bounced into the bed, getting in behind her.

"I put my personal stuff in the third drawer."

"Okay," she replied, as he slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer. She made herself comfortable, felt him give several affectionate kisses to her shoulder and neck.

"You okay? Comfortable?"

Kate looked over her shoulder a little to see him, smiled, "Mm. More than okay."

"You're cold."

"You're warm," she replied, relaxing into his embrace. She whispered, "You're here."

"Of course, I'm here. Only place I wanted to be and now I'm here."

"Rick?"

"Mm?"

"I really thought I would just be another one night stand," she shyly said.

He smirked. "I was thinking I was your one night stand," he teased giving her body a squeeze. He whispered, "I wanna sleep with you always."

"I'll let you in on a secret," she said.

"Mm?"

"I like you being right here with me," she whispered, "But I won't admit it outside of this room."

He laughed, "You should be an actress. You had me fooled a few times today. I really did think you hated me."

Kate turned about to see his eyes, "When was I acting?"

"Haha." Rick reached over to the lamp on his side and turned it off. Darkness took over the room.

"I had to bite the inside of my mouth or tongue to stop myself from bursting into giggles. It was so much fun pretending I hate you. I could get used to it, Rick."

He pressed himself against the brunette woman. He liked having her form against his. "You're certainly more believable than my mother," he pulled up the blankets then laid his head so his face was in her hair.

"That's harsh."

"Have you been to a performance?" He challenged. He breathed in. She smelt glorious.

"No."

"Well, you were unbelievable today. Acted my mother off the bloody stage."

She giggled. "It was fun. I got embarrassed when we were in the morgue with Lanie. I was worried she was gonna figure it out because she is so intuitive on that sort of stuff and then sex and condoms came up. My brain jammed."

"I saw your mind stall. It was hilarious."

She giggled, then fell quiet. "I don't wanna be found out yet," she whispered. "I want to keep us a secret a while longer."

"You just enjoy being mean to your boyfriend and keeping secrets," he teased.

"Boyfriend? Aren't you my secret lover, who is obviously wanting to make love with me?" She reached behind her for his bits but he playfully pushed her away. He managed to wrap his hand about her and held her hand to her tummy maintaining her within his embrace. She squirmed and laughed.

"Bad girl," he mumbled close to her ear, listening to her laughter. He wasn't going to initiate or respond to sex with her tonight. He desperately wanted to, but he also just wanted to be with her. They didn't have to get up early.

"I am. C'mon Castle."

"Good night, Kate," he murmured, cupping her right breast in his palm.

"Night, Rick."

"I could hear the bloody disappointment in that."

She snickered then felt him squeeze her. "Go to sleep. I will wake you when its time."

For several moments, Kate waited for Rick to start making love with her, in the belief he was just teasing and holding off on her. She could feel his erection but he was just relaxing and touching her body. Almost mapping her body to his memory. She snuggled against him, taking the time to feel what was going on inside her body. Apart from the urge to begin having sex, she could feel her body relaxing. She felt safe and content. She took a deep breath then sighed.

"Castle?"

"Beckett?"

"I know I'm repeating myself, but this feels right, comforting."

"I'm dying to make love with you, Kate, but I need to sleep with you."

"Will you sleep with that mammoth thing between us?"

"No. Well hardly." They laughed like a couple of naughty kids. After their laughter faded, he snuggled in closer to her backside so she would really feel how much he wanted her, then gave her shoulder several playful kisses. "Does it bother you?"

Kate smirked, "Well hardly. It bothers me more you're not letting me make it go away, which I happen to be really good at."

Rick stilled, "Yes, and you can do it very well," he confirmed.

Kate gave a giggle, leaning into his body. "Ricky," she cooed.

"Good night, Kate."

"Night, Rick."

Kate remained still and waited for Rick to succumb to temptation. His hand was constantly fondling her breast. She anticipated he would stop fucking with her and get started. So she waited and waited and waited. All the time, his hand caressed her lower back in a soothing manner.

Then she heard a little snore as his hands slowed down. He was falling to sleep.

Tired of waiting for him to cave first, she wriggled and turned about to face the writer. Aroused from dozing, he moved a little to accommodate their new position.

In the dark, unable to see, her fingers found his lips. With a featherlike touch, her fingertips felt the outline of his mouth, the softness of his full lips. It was like an exploration of unchartered land. A smile crept over her face when his lips pressed against her fingers.

She whispered, "Ricky?" She waited for a response. Ten seconds later, "Ricky, wake up?"

"Mm?"

He sounded sleepy. His body told her otherwise. In the last minute or so, his heart rate had increased and his body was definitely prepped for sexual intercourse. If it was possible, she wriggled in closer to his head.

"Castle?" She barely whispered in the most seductive tone she could muster up.

"Kate?"

Immediately, Kate brushed her lips over his, teasing him, enticing his appetite. "Ric-ky," she breathed out, and softly pressed her lips to his bottom lip,

It's all he needed. He responded. Kate smiled, "Rick." Her lips closed on his. His hand stroked her hip as a moan of want came from him.

Their kisses were tender, slow, delicate. Her fingers cupped his jaw, stroked through his hair. Her pace didn't alter, and she remained slow and light, waiting for his flame to be fuelled. She wanted a fire. In the beginning, she was happy with a controlled burn off that would end in him begging for her to release him.

His hand on her hip stroked softly up her waist to her right breast. A palm to his chest gauged his response. It encouraged her to lightly push against his body, persuading him to his back. He rolled, took her with him, and steadied her when she was straddled right over his pelvis. Their mouths were locked. Kate lifted her night shirt up and parted from him to pull it over her head. She panted, stared into his eyes momentarily, using the available light. There were things going on inside she had never experienced prior to that moment. There was a sexual hunger for him she needed to satisfy, but there other thins, maybe hormones coming into the play. She had a desire to explore these unknown sensations.

She shifted marginally away, to take a pause, touching her nose with hers. "Do you feel it?" She asked in a whisper. "Feel that inside?"

He nodded, "Like a new drug. Shut up and make love to me," he ordered. She smirked then returned to his mouth kissing him harder. Their tongues were against each other. His cock was pulsing between her thighs. She stayed at his mouth her hands on his chest. His hands were in her hair, down her back.

Minutes later, she migrated to his jaw, to his neck sucking over his jugular. He moaned. She licked where she had sucked, returned to his mouth for a long slower kiss. Back over his chin to his throat, his clavicle. She loved the sprinkle of light brown hair over his chest that she teased with a pinch and a gentle tug. His fingers tightened in her hair, his pectoral muscles flexed. His body temperature had increased and he breathed faster. She moved down his body, kissing a pathway to his groin, her hands feeling over every part of him, mapping his body into her memory. He was a big man but he was a solid mass of muscles, beautifully contoured muscles. Her long fingers made a path to his belly button to where the tip of his penis was waiting for attention.

A sound of pure delight escaped her as her fingers wrapped around his arousal.

He breathed in. "Fuck, Kate," he gasped when her tongue brushed the end of him. He stroked her hair, then lifted it away.

She began with tender kisses, holding off, teasing him, waiting for him to want her more. For several seconds, she stopped and in the dark without much use of her visual sense, she listened to his breathing, quietly moved until she was between his opened thighs. Right at the top of his inner thighs she sucked on his tender flesh. He groaned. She softly blew on his skin, moistened by her mouth. He groaned. Her tongue navigated its way to his balls, to the sensitive flesh she glided her lips over.

"Oh… steady, steady, Baby…"

"You okay?" She asked pausing a moment.

"Tender from last night," he sheepishly confessed, then shuddered when she boldly inhaled a good portion of his left testicle into her mouth and sucked with no mercy. No sympathy there. He'd given her body parts hell last night too.

"Oh my God, Kate!"

She ignored the feeble objection, the way his fingers combed through her hair. She concentrated on giving this famous writer the best blow job he would ever experience. She wanted to pleasure him properly, leave him satiated and speechless, and to do that, she slowly and meticulously made her way up his shaft as though she were consuming the best popsicle she ever eaten.

Her tongue glided from side to side up his length only pausing when she reached the top. She gave the tip a rub to the roof of her mouth, then toyed him with her tongue. She seized the moment to look up to his face just able to see he was staring at her, his expression telling her he was fully absorbed in their activities.

Without further ado she took him inside her mouth, closing her lips around his engorged organ. She slid down him as far as she could take him, sucking, dancing her tongue around him. He moaned. He grew harder, and his fingers became erratic and shaky with the heightening of his senses. Gradually, and as she really got into it, his body began to tremble at his thighs. He perspired and threw off the bed sheets.

"Fucking, fuck, fuck," he stammered breathlessly. "Oh God, you're a good girl…"

Kate's eyebrows rose in surprise of his verbal outburst. Last night he'd been reasonably quiet. She found she liked the immediate feedback. It caused her to draw in harder, clamping her lips firmer around his shaft. She rhythmically slid her mouth up and down, rotated her tongue around the head, slipped him deeper inside, aware he didn't have much longer before he was going to blow. He swore, his body stiffened. She tried not to laugh. He shuddered. Kate released the suction, opened her mouth and breathed heavily over his wet skin.

"Oh God."

His fingers gripped at the back of her head. Bits of her hair were pulled tighter. Then she clamped around him again and continued on with her sexual conduct.

Rick's body was on the edge of climaxing when Kate released his engorged red cock from her mouth. She clambered up onto her hands and knees, noting his own hand replaced her mouth. She crawled back up his body, stopped over his pelvis. She leaned over to kiss his mouth, now full of passion and urgency. She wanted him inside her without delay. He made an attempt to find her pussy with his hand but she pushed him away.

"Behave," she ordered.

He roared with laughter. "Oh, dominant. I like it."

"Want you inside me. Now."

With her hand back around him, she lowered her hips over him until the length of his shaft was pressed between them. His hands found her hips. She teased him rubbing her pussy along the length of his arousal, soaking him, arousing herself more. She imagined what he would feel like inside her until she couldn't wait a second longer. Then she tilted her pelvis, lifted herself and pushed down over him. He moaned in satisfaction. She took some of him inside, paused to accommodate his size, slid him almost out then sunk down on him taking most of him. She did it again. She sat up, feeling the tip of him deep inside. It hurt, pleasantly pained her. Made her want to push him out but she rotated her hips, leaned forward a little, bounce. She paused, waited for her body.

"Do you feel that?" She asked, feeling his pulsing cock against her walls.

"Feels tight," he muttered closing his eyes. "So damn tight."

She giggled,

"Felt that," he said, "Feel your laughter."

She rose up his organ, lowered, repeated, then paused, teasing him, herself. The pulse was strong, fast. She looked down at them, at where they were joined. It turned her on more seeing them together. She laid down upon his chest to kiss his mouth, her hips working on their own, and she felt Rick's thrusts against her movement. Her body trembled, her temperature shot up.

And then she wanted more. Everything left her brain, every thought was gone to allow her to enjoy the sensations of property fucking this gorgeous man beneath her.

She allowed her body to experience its own journey, rhythmically riding Castle, loving the feel of how he filled her, how their bodies fitted perfectly together, what the head of his organ caused her to feel when it slid within her. The ultimate act of intimacy. She leaned over to kiss him, their tongues pressing and dancing.

"Perfect fit," she mumbled.

"Perfect fit?" His hands on her hips, stroked down her back to her busy buttocks.

When she sat right up, maybe it was Rick who moaned with pleasure, maybe his hands were at her breasts. Something rubbed against her clit and it felt fucking great. Deep inside he was hitting a sensitive spot. If she just tilted a little more, there it was, the dull pain was sharper and she could feel deep inside the stirring of the climax she would soon have. Her muscles flexed, gripped at him, relaxed and started again.

It came in like a rocket, a climax that had her body shudder uncontrollably. Flashes of white shot around her, and her muscles clamped around Rick like a vice. She lost the ability to move and then he took over, and caused her climax to be more intense. She heard him moaning louder and she was swearing and crying through her own climax There was a sudden gush of heat within her, and then she no longer felt the hardness of his head. As her climax subsided, she opened her eyes, her hands falling to his chest to hold herself up. She gazed down at his eyes, still closed. She moved her pelvis. He cried out.

"Stop.. don't move," he pleaded holding her hips to still her. "Be heavy."

She obeyed and dropped her weight on his pelvis, relaxing. He remained hard within her. Her thigh muscles were burning.

Kate bit her lip, lifted herself so he slipped out of her. She rolled off him to her side of the bed lying onto her back and stretched out her legs. She panted heavily.

Rick switched the lamp on to find the towel he'd dropped at the side of the bed earlier. He reached for it, used it to wipe himself then passed it to Kate.

For almost a minute, Kate lay there in silence, allowing herself to enjoy what her body was still going through in recovery. She felt more alive than she had in years, had found a man who fitted her body's form almost perfectly. He wasn't too tall or short, his size suited her longer limbs. Then the thought hit her, the realisation she had just participated in sex without using a condom after they had mutually agreed to use them until they agreed not to. She stroked his upper thigh, "Castle?"

"Mmmhm?"

Even his mumble sounded full of content. She pressed on, "I'm sorry," she whispered watching his chest rise and fall with his quick breaths. His ribs rippled his skin with each inhale. It was so fucking sexy to watch and for several seconds it totally distracted her. His rib cage was large and prominent when he was laying down.

"Sorry?" He looked at her like she was crazy. "You just gave me the best blow job I ever had. I'm proud of you."

Kate laughed. "The best blow job?" She bit her lip, more than pleased she had accomplished a small but important goal.

"Fuck, yeah. What your mouth and tongue are capable of is incredible. Wow!" He exclaimed, clearly teasing her.

She thought he was funny but the matter of not using a condom stayed with her. It didn't concern her she might fall pregnant because she was on the pill and was a responsible user of contraception. She bit her top lip and he clearly saw her concerns.

"What are you sorry about? You came. I felt every squeezing bit of it."

She laughed, completely unable to remain serious, recalling how hard she had cum riding him. Coyly she said, "Castle."

"What? You just gave that performance and now you're going all Miss Shy on me?"

"No! I'm not." She gave his hip a light thump.

"Oww. Police brutality," he squawked then laughed.

Another giggle, "No!"

Rick chuckled at her objective tone. "Then what's the apology about?"

"Condom, well, lack of one."

"Oh yeah." He stared at the ceiling for several moments, contemplating that matter, then looked at her face, "I thought about that after you sat on me."

She sighed catching her breathe. She rolled to her side, touched his right breast, then gave his chest a several strokes, palm down. She bit her lip then suggestively said, "It felt really good without one."

"I'll say." Rick took hold of her hand, lifted it and gave her fingers several kisses. "I promise you, I'm safe, in every imaginable way you can fathom."

"Same. Except I have a gun and hand cuffs."

"Oooh. Kinky," he growled.

She laughed, then squirmed as his arm reached over her body pushing her to her back. Seconds later he was above her, then lowered himself right over her, rapidly touching her body in a succession of playful kisses and nips that had her laughing. She parted and wrapped her legs about his hips, accepting a portion of his weight against her. His stubble roughed up the sensitive skin of her breasts as he slowly and lovingly fondled her. He was very gentle and would then suck harder until she moaned. It bordered on pleasurable and painful, and he would follow it up with tender licks. Then he pushed up, and quietly looked in her eyes. "Kiss me Detective Beckett, like you're gonna die tonight."

He lowered and kissed her hard pressing his mouth entirely over waiting opened mouth. She breathed through her nose, opening her mouth as wide as she could, accepting his tongue, feeling him explore her mouth, and she pushed her tongue against him.

Breathless, he pulled away and he was up on his knees between her legs. The coolness of the room gave her skin goose bumps, tightened her nipples. It was brief and all forgotten when she watched this man she had known from afar for years, lift her legs, encouraging her to fully expose herself for him. It was off for her because he was familiar to her. Kate's mother had read his damn novels. Yet he'd known Kate for barely a week. He was so into her, not only her body but her mind, her thought processes, her history. She was like a novel to him, figured as his right thumb lovingly stroke over the folds of skin of pussy completely distracting her thoughts. She glanced between his face and hand. He wore a smile of a man who was thoroughly in his element, and the manner in which he touched, told her loud and clear what he thought of her. He looked from her body to her eyes, his glistening.

"You are so beautiful, Kate," he mumbled almost to himself as he cast his eyes over her form.

She smiled, not breaking the contact. He was the first to look away, straight back to her body he gently fondled. It wouldn't take much effort for her to climax again and the way he was beginning to play, he was very aware she was close. He slipped a finger inside her being, releasing a moan. Kate watched. It turned her on more to see and feel.

"I don't think we're gonna get much sleep, Baby." Rick stated not looking up from where he held his gaze. Then he stopped what he was doing, indicated he wanted her to wriggle up the bed, which she did, and he laid flat on his stomach.

Kate got up on her elbows, peering between her legs where Rick's head was. His eyes watched hers as he slowly lowered his mouth to her pussy. He pressed his lips to her clit. She gasped then demanded.

"More."

He paused gazing up at her with a soft smile. He murmured, "Please. More please, Rick."

Kate bit her bottom lip, holding back a grin, staring at him hanging just over her flesh, waiting for her to beg him. His hands stroked her inner thighs and he softly blew air over her sensitive bits.

"More please Ricky," she requested with a seductive tone.

"Yes, M'am." He dove in.

Kate squealed and burst into giggles, closing her thighs around his legs as he dragged her down the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

_Here is the next chapter. Thank you FW for proofing. Thanks for the comments re Meredith. I found the way round it. There was no way he was going to cheat by the way, the challenge was working around it._

 **Chapter 11**

The following morning, Kate sat at the kitchen counter on a stool, her legs crossed. She was at peace, sipping on a perfectly brewed mug of coffee. A quarter hour out of bed, she remained a little sleepy. Her eyes and mind could only manage to stare absently at the man who had become the master of the kitchen that morning. He was making breakfast. And he did it in his boxers. Only his boxers. His chest was bare, the thick hair on his head all ruffled because of her fingers and sleep. Her fingers wrapped about the warm mug, her foot swung lazily up and down and increased in speed the closer he came. He approached her a soft smiled growing.

"Do you know how sexy you look in that?" He inquired looking south of her eyes.

Kate followed his gaze, and smiled shyly, her eyes returning to his. She was in his blue shirt, held together by three well placed buttons. "How sexy?"

He turned the stool so she faced him, "This sexy." He kissed her then touched the side of her mouth. "You have stubble rash."

She instantly licked her swollen lips. "You taste of me," she whispered.

"Us," he replied.

"How long can we maintain this bubble?"

"Of lust?"

"Mm." She swallowed, blindly putting the mug to the counter.

"I dunno." He pressed his lips to hers for another kiss, "But are you free for breakfast tomorrow?"

She laughed sweetly, "Maybe."

"Oh, it's a date. C'mon on. Let's get this homicide solved today so you can take a couple of days off and we can go away, get to know each other more."

"Hey," She said putting a hand to his collar to hold him close, "Stay."

"What?"

"Another kiss," she requested.

"How do you like your pancakes?"

"Maple syrup."

"Oh, good thing Castle went shopping last night."

She laughed. "There's maple syrup …"

He kissed her again, his fingers working on the top button of his shirt. He pulled away, "I never took you as a woman who'd wear her man's shirts."

"Smells of him," she whispered back, "Expensive." He had the second button undone and his hand slipped inside the shirt to her breast.

Rick smirked. "You're distracting the cook."

"The cook is fraternising with the customers." She closed her hand over his, holding him to her breast.

"Can't help it."

"If we're gonna solve a homicide, then we need to eat breakfast and get to work."

Rick lifted his left wrist to see the time. "You're right." He straightened up and removed his hand. "Two pancakes enough to rejuvenate you?"

"Mm. More coffee would be good too. I'll make the coffee." She slid off the stool and followed him around the bar. "Then we have to get ready for work."

"Bossy at work, bossy at home, bossy in the bedroom." Castle whined. "I don't know."

"It's getting old, Castle."

The group sat around Beckett's desk with the white board as their central point of interest. Castle, Beckett, Esposito and Ryan were heavily debating the merits of their case.

"Without evidence of trauma, I'm not ready to buy her attacker as a sexual predator. Not with him using a condom." Beckett said then bit her lip, dwelling on the condom factor. They were a pain in the ass, interrupted the general flow of making love, but if you didn't want to reproduce or didn't trust you partner, then they were the choice of the sexually active.

"Could be he was trying to hide DNA." Esposito suggested.

"Dude, someone smart enough to hide DNA would have been smart enough not to have sex with her in a laundry room," Ryan replied.

"You're missing the point," Castle interjected, "The laundry room provided him with an opportunity... It isn't just chance she was killed there."

Montgomery entered the bullpen pleased to see his group of detectives and one writer working together as a team.

"Where are we on her cell phone?" The Captain called out.

Esposito replied, "I pulled her records and had her service provider ping it." He opened the file and read from it, "Triangulation put the phone at or near the building." Esposito handed the file to Beckett.

Montgomery said, "Maybe the guy took it so she couldn't call for help, then dumped it somewhere close by. What about the ex-boyfriend?"

Ryan replied, "We have a first name. But if we had her cell phone, he might be in her address book."

Beckett had the file opened and pointed to a page, "What about these calls?"

Castle leaned over and asked, "What calls?"

She replied, "Last two months, there's dozens of incoming calls from the same number."

Esposito replied, "Right. We're still running it down, but the number's a pre-pay. Besides, those calls stopped a couple of weeks before she was killed."

Beckett said, "But her outgoing calls to that number stop even before that." She glanced to Rick, "Whoever it was, she didn't want to talk to them." She was up and walking.

Castle followed Beckett. "She was letting those calls go to her voicemail."

When Detective Beckett pushed open the door and walked into the interrogation room with a folder pressed under her arm, the uniform on duty stood up. He exited as Rick followed Beckett in, the two men acknowledge each other. Beckett pulled out the chair then sat opposite the young man. He still looked like a teenager, hadn't quite made it physically to looking like a man. He was nervous.

Beckett said directly to the twenty-year old, "Brent Johnson?"

Brent replied, "Yeah."

"I'm Detective Beckett. This is Mr Castle. I assume you know why you're here?" Kate glanced at Rick as he sat to her right side.

"Um, the cops who picked me up at my job said you had some questions about what happened to Sara?"

Beckett nodded, leaned in over the desk, "That's right. We understand you and Sara were dating."

The young man nodded, "Yeah, till about a month ago."

"A month ago? What happened then?"

"Nothing. We broke up." Brent said with a portion of spite in his tone staring at the table top.

Picking up on the raw nerve the young man carried over the break up, Castle inquired, "Whose idea was that?"

Brent looked over at Castle, taking him in momentarily. "Mutual thing, I guess."

"A mutual thing," Beckett echoed, not believing that for a second. She reached into her pocket, and took out a small digital recorder. She fiddled with it a second then hit play.

Everyone in the room listened to Brent's voice on the recorder say, "Sara, it's me. Look, just call me back, okay?" There was a beep then a new voicemail message began, "You can't just not call me. Don't be a bitch, Sara." Another beep and a new message, "Sara, c'mon. I just wanna talk. Why can't you just tell me who the guy is? Okay, you know what? You're just a little slut."

Beckett clicked off, staring at Brent, "There's plenty more of those," she stated in a matter of fact manner.

"And they all make Alec Baldwin's messages seem like rainbows and unicorns," Castle added.

Brent asked, "How did you get those?"

"From your service provider," Beckett answered.

Castle leaned in, "Little advice? When you a buy a pre-paid phone? Don't put it on your credit card. Makes it totally traceable."

"I wasn't trying to hide anything." Brent stated, defiantly.

"No? Then why'd you just lie?" Beckett asked.

Castle was up on his feet with a sudden rush of wisdom he wanted to share, "Cause no man likes getting dumped, right?" He exclaimed with a voice too high for a man of his stature, "Our egos can't handle it. I had an ex-girlfriend cheat once and I ended up drinking every meal for a week. And I never even liked her. But if I'd loved her? Wow. I don't know what I would've done."

Brent watched the older man in almost disbelief. "No. No way. It wasn't like that."

Beckett, who wasn't sure about whether to laugh her ass off at Castle's reaction or tell him to settle down said their guest, "No? Then how'd you find out about Sara, if you broke up a month ago?

Brent replied, "A friend." Kate leaned in and gave him a look that only served to encourage him to speak more. He instantly succumbed to her pressure, "Chloe. Chloe Richardson. We all went to college together. Chloe's the one who got Sara her job."

"How'd this friend find out?"

"Chloe nannies for another family in the building. They were pretty close."

"So, where were you the day Sara was killed?"

"Where those other cops found me." He scratched his head, glanced to the cop who seemed to want more information, "At my job," he clarified. "Look, they have video cameras and a sign-in sheet there. I swear, I didn't have anything to do with this." He waited, aware the interview was coming to an end. "So, you gonna arrest me now or what?

"No. You can go. But I don't want you to leave town until we talk again, do you understand?" The Detective said with a tone of authority looking directly at the young man.

"Yes, ma'am." Brent stood up, and hastily left the room, probably not fast enough for his comfort.

Rick smiled after the dude, amused by his rapid departure, then once the door closed he looked at Beckett, his expression a mixture of disbelief and amusement, "Don't leave town? Don't you need probable cause for something like that?"

She smiled, cheekily, "Only he doesn't know that, does he?" Beckett got up, headed to the exit as well.

"So, you can just lie like that? That is so cool."

"Of course I can."

"You said it with such a straight face. Do you know how scary you are?"

"Yep," she answered as she walked from the box.

Rick jotted down a note in his pad.

"Castle." Beckett called, from beyond the room. And it sounded just like she was calling a pet dog but there were sensual connotations too, similar to tones he'd heard coming from her during the night. Rick chuckled, but got up and hurried after her. They were going for a drive.

Castle and Beckett were in the car on the way to the park immediately after they had finished talking with Brent Johnson who, according to Rick, had been terrorized.

"Brent Johnson." Castle muttered almost to himself as he gazed out of the window. "Feel sorry for the guy."

"Who?"

"Sara's ex that you just terrorized."

"Questioned, Castle," she corrected glancing from the road ahead to the writer.

"He was in a state of terror when he left the Precinct, classic, don't leave town," he mimicked with a chuckle.

"What about him, Castle?"

"Well, he really believes he's in a bind. Leaving all those voicemails to Sara. Glad I hate leaving voicemail, especially now I know there's cops in this world like you," he said clearly trying to wind her up.

"That's right. Hang on, what do you mean cops in the world like me? I'm a good cop."

"Scary cop."

"And it's you who wanted to shadow me for inspiration. Good cop," she insisted.

"I'm not implying you're a bad cop, Beckett." He replied, "But you can sure scare people."

"Oh yeah. Its my job to intimidate people. Not like your little spool about getting dumped, right?"

"What about it?"

"Fessing up like that with a perk present?"

"What'd I say?" He half squawked in defence. Then he pointed a finger, "Oh, I know what you're doing. You're winding me up like you do the boys."

"What? No! You said," and she dropped her voice to mimic his, "Our egos can't handle it. I had an ex-girlfriend cheat once and I ended up drinking every meal for a week. And I never even liked her. But if I'd loved her? Wow. I don't know what I would've done." Her voice returned, "Who says that to a suspect? Especially you?"

Rick turned in his seat and stared Beckett down. "You just said that verbatim, Honey."

She nodded her agreement, a smile creeping over her face and she shrugged.

"Especially me? What so important about me saying it?"

"It was a funny thing for a famous author to say, that's why."

"Oh you're fan girling. Putting me on that celebrity pedestal."

"No."

He laughed at her high pitched tone, then said, "I'm just a regular guy, Kate."

She grinned, "Wow Richard Castle, regular guy, like the famous bachelor who can have any woman he wants and gets dumped, I mean, I have an ex-boyfriend and he dumped me for a job and moved out of town, and I was like, oh well, move on, as some other guy will wanna buy me a drink or a meal next week to get in my fucking panties. No point in crying over him. I'm not a celebrity and all but I too got dumped …"

"You finished there?" He inquired. "You may not be famous yet, but you are gorgeous and I can't believe any sane man would dump you."

"I've been dumped more than once," she replied defensively.

"Really? That really happened to you?" Castle asked in complete disbelief. "I find that hard to belief."

"What?" She was confused.

"Getting dumped. I thought you would be the dumper."

"Dumper? No, I was the dumpee," she said glancing between road and him. "Is that actually a word?"

Rick laughed at her mischievous expression, "Guys would be crazy to dump you," he said matter of fact, "and seemingly I'm a little disgruntled by reality," he sulked.

"No, I'm joking," she replied, pressing her lips together. If she denied the truth he would stop asking questions.

"But I believe you would get asked out all the time. That's why you don't have food in your house."

She laughed in disbelief. "I can see how your imagination helps you write, Castle."

"No really. As an example only, I've bought your last three or so meals and cooked one … not that I mind, just saying."

"That's unusual, Castle, and it's because you're shadowing me, and now you're my partner. In fact, this is the longest first date I've ever had."

Rick laughed heartily, "Yeah same, not that you have a choice, doing this for the Mayor and NYPD of course."

"It was an order I accept you to be my partner. From the Mayor and the Captain. I had no choice."

"But you're loving every bit of this partnership, Beckett. Can tell by the rosy glow of your cheeks today, that walk you've got happening today…." He smirked thinking of a few things he could say.

"You do know I carry a gun."

"I know, but then you won't have anyone to play with when the handcuffs come out after hours, if you shoot me that is. Maybe that's why you get dumped. Threats to shoot."

Kate made a sound of humph, then said, "There's a car park, and there is the kids' park we need to be at." She hoped that would shut down the topic of conversation about being dumped before he did realise she was telling the truth.

"Good find, Beckett."

"Gotta be quick in Dodge." She turned the car into the space, braked and killed the engine.

"Your ex really did dump you for a job?" Rick seriously asked.

Kate pulled the key out of the ignition and looked at Rick. It was becoming quite evident that the writer didn't miss much and saw right through her.

She gave a nod. "His career would benefit from the move, so he left and I stayed here, because a move would have ruined mine."

"You really just moved on?"

She shook her head then smiled, with the confession, "I cried for a week and had liquid meals for most of that week."

"Mm." He thought about that, then said, "Well Beckett, I'm glad he dumped you."

"Why?"

"Because he stupidly left you so I could find you available." With that said, he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, "Let's go see about a nanny, shall we?" He got out and shut the door.

Kate remained in the car a few moments her mind in some place between, oh my god, he really does like me, to a full blown panic attack. This relationship was moving along at warp speed. She didn't know which way to go: girlishly lustful or panic stricken. Instead, she took several long deep breaths, reminded herself that he was an oversized kid, then got out the car. The cool fresh air helped. A lot.

The playground was at peak level capacity with pre-schoolers running and play on the equipment. They walked diagonally across the street in silence.

Beckett picked up conversation again as they stepped up the curb by saying, "The doorman told Esposito this is the playground most of the nannies in the building go to, so this girl, Chloe, should be here."

"Kinda takes me back a bit." Rick said gazing about the park.

She could not refuse a playful shot, "A bit? I'm thinkin' it's gotta be a little more than that, Castle."

"I wasn't talking about when I was a kid. I was referring to taking my daughter to the park."

"You took your daughter to the park?" Now she was interested.

"Spring, summer and fall, we were here almost every day. Alexis's mother was on the road a lot with community theater so I had custody," he explained and when he glanced to her questionable expression, he did the same back at her, "What?"

"Just never figured you for Mr Mom."

"Some of the best days of my life."

"That's actually nice."

"Tell me about it. Do you know how many lonely, single mothers there are in a Manhattan playground? And there I was, in between marriages." He chuckled obviously reflecting on some very good times had.

They stopped at a fence looking about the park. Beckett couldn't help herself and had to ask, "Exactly how many times have you been married, Castle?

"Twice."

"That's it?"

"Isn't that enough? How about you?"

"Me? Nope. Never been," she adamantly replied.

"You'd be good at it. You're controlling and disapproving. You should really try it."

"I'm not an if at first you don't succeed sort of girl, Castle. When it comes to marriage, I'm more the one and done type."

He had to ask. "Any serious candidates?" He maintained a poker face for the four or so seconds she stared at him. He saw her mind ticking over, and she wanted so badly to bite her lip but she refrained herself. Instead her lip tremble.

"Are you always going to wind me up?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, but I'm waiting for an answer," he seriously said. Had this woman met that special person? Was it him she had finally met? Or was he way off base even if he'd never been so sure in his damn life that he had met his soul mate?

Kate looked into the distance and pointed, trying to engage her brain. She didn't want to answer him, because she feared saying no, would hurt him, would result in her lying to someone she cared a lot about, even so early in the relationship. Right now, she was unsure whether she had an answer for herself.

"Doorman said she had a red vest on. That could be her over there." Beckett said instead and headed over to young woman, she thought might be Chloe Richardson, who was with a little girl, not far off.

"You're avoiding my question Kate." He casually called after her as he followed her along the path to where the kids were playing.

Beckett turned about and stopped, waited for him to catch up.

"Stop overthinking it," he quietly said, glancing from her eyes to the middle distance and back to her eyes. She had beautiful large eyes and in the daylight, he could see the brown blending into the green. He was accustomed to viewing blue eyes. It was refreshing to be around a brunette woman with hazel eyes.

"No, there's no serious candidates, Rick," she honestly answered, bit her lip and then turned. They continued to walk side by side, "But maybe you might like to ask me again in say six months time."

Rick stopped walking. She kept going but did a one-eighty turn, stepped backwards her face wearing a devilish grin. "What's wrong Ricky, did I prick a commitment nerve? You thought I was scared?"

Rick shook himself from his state of shock, blinked and promptly replied, "No. Not at all. Ask again in six months. I will put it in my diary."

"Well, come on then," she called then completed her circle, only then glancing over her left shoulder to ensure he followed her.

From that day onwards, he lived in hope.


	12. Chapter 12

You might not have received a notification that I post ch 11 last week, so before you read on, just check that you have read ch 11. Hopefully FF website is working properly again. Enjoy.

 **Chapter 12**

Beckett and Castle were seated on a park bench with Chloe, the teenage nanny between them. It remained a brisk day, which made sitting about in the cold something Kate didn't want to spend too much time doing. Chloe also showed signs she felt the cooler temperature particularly as she had just been running after a pre-schooler. To prevent freezing their assess off, Beckett got straight to the point of their meeting with Chloe.

"Chloe, Sara's boyfriend told us that you were the one who got Sara her job."

"You talked to Brent?" Chloe asked and Beckett nodded. "When we got out of school, Sara couldn't find a job. She was temping all over town. I nanny for a family in the same building and heard that the Petersons were looking for someone."

"So, when was the last time you saw Sara?" Castle inquired and immediately Chloe turned and looked away, upset.

Beckett stepped in and said, "I understand how it feels to lose someone, Chloe, but we need to ask you these questions."

Chloe nodded, "We'd meet before work sometimes. Get some coffee on Columbus, then walk over to work together."

"Did you have coffee with her that day?"

"Yeah."

Castle asked, "And, did Sara say anything to you? Did she seem upset?"

Unsure and surprised Chloe asked, "Upset? Upset about what?"

Beckett remained calm and explained, "We got the impression from Brent that Sara was seeing someone else."

Again, Chloe looked off into the distance. Castle who was up to speed with the mannerisms of teenage girls, saw Chloe wasn't willing to share information she possibly knew. "You know who he was, don't you, Chloe." He encouraged.

Chloe turned, looked at Castle's face, then answered, "Sara stayed late sometimes."

Confused, Beckett asked, "What do you mean? At the Petersons?" She glanced at Rick.

Castle mouthed to Beckett, behind Chloe's back, "Told you."

Chloe said, "We got off work around the same time most days, so we'd take the train together. I live with a roommate a couple of blocks from Sara, but the last few months she started staying late. Mr and Mrs Peterson take turns coming home for dinner, you know?"

Beckett nodded, "Yes. Mrs. Peterson told us."

The young woman said, "God, I don't wanna say something and then, I mean, he's married."

Beckett asked, "Sara told you about him then?"

"No. Not exactly. It's just, the nights Mrs Peterson didn't come home for dinner? Those were the only nights Sara stayed late."

Again, Beckett looked behind Chloe to Castle, who raised an eyebrow. She returned her attention to the younger woman, "Thank you, Chloe for talking with us." She stood up as Castle did taking her cue that the conversation was over.

After a little small talk, Castle and Beckett were on their way back to her car.

She touched his lower arm to gain his attention as they walked, "I'm hungry, Rick."

"Already? And after the big breakfast I served you."

"Yeah, well, burning some calories lately," she stated then pushed her tongue into a cheek trying to hold back a smartass grin as she looked at him. "Not complaining."

"I hope you're not. I'm getting hungry though, so must be the nocturnal activities," Rick said as they stepped off the curb. They hurried over the road to avoid an oncoming taxi.

"Well, how about I take you for lunch today?" Beckett pointed the keys and unlocked the Crown.

"You have something in mind?"

They got in the car. "Do you like Thai?" Beckett asked.

"Of course."

"Good." Kate started the engine. "I could really go with finding a bathroom too,' she said.

"Yeah me too. Like you never see cops on TV needing to go, but now I appreciate how hard it is for you guys when you're on the job in public places."

"Imagine what it's like when there's an urgency to it." Kate offered up and followed it with a chuckle. "Ask Ryan about that."

"Oh, please, do tell."

"He ate Mexican beans one day for lunch." She gave a giggle. "We had an unplanned stakeout that night. Espo and I nearly died."

"Oh. Mental note to self to keep with the regular food when on the job."

"Avoid the type of foods that have an effect, Captain Risky." She smiled at him then refocused on the road ahead.

Detective Beckett and Mr Castle entered the building they planned to meet Howard Peterson at, via rotating doors into the lobby. Rick shuffled in behind Kate in the same compartment, bumping her out of the door as the glass paneled chased him. He sprung out of it like a lamb which caused Kate to laugh and shake her heard.

"You really are an idiot," she said, amused nonetheless by his childish behavior. She caught security at the desk observing him. Kate kept walking and Rick soon caught up falling in to Kate's right. Further along he sighted the sign they desperately been searching for. He pointed it out to their left, "Little girl's room, Kate."

She followed his pointed hand, saw the familiar sign and made an immediate beeline to the ladies' room. Rick tagged along but deviated to the men's room. A few minutes later, he waited outside the ladies for her and smiled in amusement when she exited the toilets with a look of pure relief on her face.

"Trying time, huh?" He inquired falling in beside her.

"I was close to bursting point."

"Mm. Messy. Was that second cup of coffee this morning, and then the take away I delivered to the precinct. Three cups."

She laughed, "Yeah, it's crazy how you're saying good morning when you arrive and I've been with you all night. I want to laugh but I have to play Detective Beckett."

"Arrhh the downsides to the secret life of Castle and Beckett." Rick mused.

"Can't wait to get this over and done with. I'm so hungry," Beckett stated her palm flat again her abdomen. "I'm fading away."

"Seriously? For someone as slim as you, you certainly have a good appetite."

"Mm." She frowned, "I tend to graze, Rick."

"Like a horse?"

"No. I mean, I'll eat a piece of fruit and then maybe nuts, every few hours. This is a long time between meals."

"Told you we should have asked the husband more questions that day." Rick replied as they walked towards where they had arranged to meet Howard Peterson. "We could be eating."

Beckett replied, "And I told you, I like to question my most likely suspect after I know more about him or her. That way he or she is tied to more specific answers. Him in this instance."

"So you suspected him too?"

Beckett glanced at Rick, "The husband? Duh."

"You know, Beckett, you would totally clean up at my poker games."

She rolled her eyes, "Right. Just you, James Patterson and the rest of the Times best seller list."

"A few others, give or take,"

"Mm. I think it's probably a little too rich for my blood, Castle."

"We could always make it strip poker," he suggested.

She held back a smile, and said, "Sorry, Castle, but I prefer mystery to horror."

Castle laughed, "Yeah, but one night we're gonna play strip poker and I will kick your ass, Honey."

"I wouldn't bet on that. I'll have you naked in no time," she bounced back and gave him a sly smile, which caused Rick to laugh more.

"I'm unbeatable at Scrabble," he advised.

"I will beat you at that too." Kate said with confidence as she laid eyes upon the man they were to meet.

"Yeah right."

Howard was where he'd said he would, yapping business into his cell phone and roaming a space. He had seen them, his expression indicating he was aware they had arrived but was unsure why they were there and perhaps a little put out by their arrival. He held up a finger for them to wait a moment.

Howard said into the phone, "Yeah. I'm checking out the space now. But I told you, I need at least twenty thousand square feet."

Beckett waved her hand in a circular motion, indicating he should wind up his call. Now.

Howard nodded at Beckett and said, "Look, I'll call you back if my clients are interested. Yep. Goodbye." He hung up the call.

Beckett said, "Hi. Remember us?"

"Yes, of course, Detective Beckett and Mr Castle." He looked from them to the entrance, clearly anxious to be on the move, "Can we walk? I need to be three blocks down like five minutes ago."

"Sure. It's a nice day for a walk, right Castle?"

"Yeah sure, we might find a place to eat as well."

"True," Beckett agreed as they all turned towards the lobby entrance. It was all she thought about as they walked out a side entrance back on to the street. She was famished.

Outside on the pavement Beckett, Castle and Howard Peterson walked in a line and talked.

Beckett got them into conversation so they could get on with their day, "So when was the last time you saw, Sara, Mr. Peterson?"

"The night before she was killed. I already told you."

"Which was your night to be home for dinner, right?" Castle asked.

"Yes. Why are you asking?"

Castle was about to answer but Beckett jumped in, waving her hand at him to not speak, "Eh. Eh. Eh." She turned her attention to Peterson. "I have information that Sara Manning was involved in a relationship."

"Right," Howard said with a nod, "She had a boyfriend."

Castle scrunched his face. "You're guessing wrong."

Beckett added, "Someone else."

"Someone else? Who?" Howard was surprised and interested.

Castle looked at Peterson as he sheepishly pointed to him.

Howard pointed at himself, mostly in shock, "Me? You think I was having an affair with Sara?"

"Bingo." Rick popped out.

"But that's, that's... crazy."

"Is it?" Beckett asked, "We know she stayed late on some nights."

"To help us with dinner."

"Us? What we heard is that she only helped on the nights your wife wasn't home." Beckett replied.

Howard Peterson suddenly appeared a bit trapped and paused in his stride. "It's not what you think."

"When is it ever?" Rick asked stepping in closer, and to get out of the way of other pedestrians.

"Look, it wasn't my fault Wall Street tanked. Took the real estate market with it. Only try telling her that."

"Try telling who that, Mr. Peterson?" Beckett asked, a little confused about where he was going with the conversation with Wall Street. What the hell did that have to do with the murder or the affair.

"My wife." Howard sighed and looked about them, finally focusing on Beckett, "And you're right. I was having an affair."

"So, what happened?" She asked.

Castle immediately shot Beckett an odd look of disbelief that she didn't know what happened when two people had an affair. She flashed a frustrated glare right back at him.

Simultaneously, Howard furrowed his brow at Beckett, "What do you mean, what happened? I cheated. I strayed. Whatever you wanna call it."

"I meant, in that laundry room." Beckett corrected awkwardly while mentally kicking herself for not being clearer.

"What?" Howard paused.

Beckett said, "You just said that-"

"I was having an affair," Howard interrupted, "But it wasn't with Sara, for God's sake. It was with a woman in my office." Again, he scanned about them, processing the discussion they were in the middle of, then looked back at the Detective who was patiently waiting for him to cut to the chase. "Look, on the nights I was supposed to be home for dinner, I wasn't. Check the land line at the apartment. I always called Sara to make sure things were okay. There's gotta be records from my cell phone, right?"

"Okay," Beckett nodded, openly annoyed she hadn't accomplished anything other than finding out another man was having an affair.

"Don't leave town?" Castle said, noting Beckett was a little deflated about the progress, or lack of, of this case.

Side by side they walked a couple of blocks towards the street where the car was parked. Silence reigned between them most of the way, both chewing on the conversation had with Howard Peterson.

Suddenly, Castle grabbed Kate's hand and half dragged her between people into an alley, pacing ahead. She kept up, searching behind then for why he had impulsively deviated from their journey back to her car.

"Castle, what are you doing?" She impatiently asked.

He gave her hand a squeeze, "C'mon. I know a place for lunch. I read great reviews about it and have wanted to dine there for ages."

"How many restaurant reviews do you read?" She scurried forward to catch up with his pace, glad she was able to cover ground rapidly with her long stride.

"You have no idea."

"I'm getting the feeling I do."

"Though lately I've actually been trying them out."

"I'm gonna gain twenty pounds dating you," she stated with a tone of humour.

"That won't hurt you, but five would be good," he replied quickly. "I'm not implying-"

"You think I'm too skinny?"

"No," he adamantly stated, "You are perfect to me, whatever form you come in. Come on."

"Perfect," she repeated, dwelling on that. Her mother had often called her perfect and had regularly encouraged her to stay the way she was. She felt a warmth spark within her and gripped his hand firmly. In the same moments, Kate realized they were side by side, holding hands, their upper arms lightly bumping into each other as they navigated their way around other pedestrians, not letting oncoming walkers separate them. She liked that. He paused half way along the block, searched about them then pointed with his free hand up ahead. She followed his direction.

"There it is, Kate. Thai food, named as one of New York City's best eateries," he grinned. "I hope you're still hungry."

"Starving. Let's go, Castle."

They proceeded to the green door, with an image of a bowl of Thai soup.

Rick ordered two meals of Tom Kha Kai which was chicken in coconut soup and a third dish of fried rice with vegetables, while Beckett called into to update Ryan and Esposito of their progress. By the time she hung up the call the meals were served and Rick was hoeing in, quite hungry.

Kate stirred her soup, then pulled the rice a little her way. Rick paused when she did so. She smirked, aware he had been momentarily concerned she was going to steal the rice. She keenly ate a few mouthfuls hungrier than she had thought she was.

"Castle, can I ask you something?" She asked a few minutes later, pausing from her meal.

"Personal or business?" He asked right back, his blue eyes mischievous.

"Personal. Very personal."

"I see," he seriously replied. "Personal category. Will I be able to handle it?"

She laughed girlishly, the Detective, tucked away for now.

"Alright." He put down his utensil, wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back watching Kate the entire time. He kind of smiled, leaned in, then said so only she would hear, "You're worried we didn't use condoms last night…"

Instantly her eyes widened, then she smiled, "No. Well, yes. But no." She glanced about the tiny restaurant, feeling awkward with him raising the condom matter now. "I'm okay about that." She added looking right at him to ensure he knew. "But my question is not about that."

"Well, tell me."

She blurted out, "Howard Peterson."

"Personal?" He asked in surprise.

She nodded. "Him cheating on his wife, Castle."

"Oh, yes."

"I don't want to be that wife, well girlfriend. I don't usually date at warp speed, Rick." She clenched her jaw, exposing her teeth.

"Oh." Rick picked up the fork and grabbed a scoop of rice, shoved it in his mouth then chewed, while he tried to anticipate where Kate was going with this conversation to convince her not to waste energy worrying. She ate, too hungry to have much of a spell. He put down the fork, swallowed, "So what's your question?"

"Maybe it's not so much a question but a concern I have."

"Okay." He understood he walked a fine line of either blowing their new relationship to smithereens, or hurtling it into the totally committed zone. He was unsure which would upset Kate the most. Concern was written all over her face as it probably was on his own, "Honey, I'm not Howard Peterson."

"I know," she agreed with a roll of her eyes. "Duh."

"My first wife, Meredith?"

She nodded, "Alexis' mother?"

"That's the one. She cheated on me." He sat forward reaching for Kate's hand and let his news sink in. "Kate, I've been thinking since we spoke to Peterson."

"Mm?" Do you mind if we-" he bit his lip, unsure of himself, then threw himself in, "I don't want to be with any other woman. I'm kind of fond of who is in front of me right now."

She nodded.

Rick forged on, with a suggestion, a big one. "What if we just be with each other and see what happens?" He gave her hand a squeeze.

"Be exclusive?" She inquired, then smiled, a little excited. "Yes?"

"Yes. But it's still a secret."

"Definitely." She weaved her fingers into his. "It will give us the best shot. We've jumped in pretty fast. We could risk imploding."

"Then let's do that so others don't impact on us."

"Yes," she agreed. "And no more condoms?"

He laughed, then said, "I'm okay with that."

"Happy now?" Ricked asked and immediately saw her cheeks brighten, eyes glisten.

"Yes. You?"

"Very happy. I'm with you, Kate."

"Good. Now eat your lunch, Writer Boy. We have criminals to catch." She said then laughed out loud.


	13. Chapter 13

_To answer a couple of comments – the dialogue gets changed to correct the grammar, I have figured out the Meredith scene, its not all gonna be unicorns and flowers, so hang on as we're gonna get some angst which is already written. I have been trying to write out scenes from scripts so there's not so much dialogue but the story keeps moving in other ways. This is also the beginning of my last couple of weeks of my final university subject so please be patient if it takes a while between chapters here on out until June. Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. I do enjoy receiving them._

 **Chapter 13**

Beckett and Castle returned to the Precinct a little after two pm. Ryan and Esposito were at their desks, both busy on their desktop computers.

"Good afternoon, gents," Rick greeted, taking off his jacket.

"Where did you two get to? We waited for you for lunch." Esposito said.

Rick caught Kate's minor moment of panic, so quickly replied, "We dropped by a Thai place after catching up with Howard Peterson. My partner here, I've noticed she gets low on sugar…."

"Castle," Kate snapped.

"See? This woman needs more nutrition than Thai soup." He took a hold of Kate's jacket as she peeled herself out of it then hung both pieces of clothing on the coat stand.

"Should have come back. We went for burgers down the block," Esposito said and Ryan nodded. Both Detectives appeared to be quite satisfied with their lunch choices.

"Oh man, and I love cheese burgers. Next time, Beckett, we're going to lunch with them," Castle said as he plonked himself on his chair.

Esposito approached Kate's desk and asked, "What happened with the husband?"

Beckett replied, "He said he was cheating, just not with our victim. I want you to run it down. Here's her name." She handed a piece of paper to Esposito.

Ryan said, "I'm telling you, true commitment's a thing of the past. I mean, name me one happily married couple."

Castle thought about a moment. "De Generes and de Rossi?"

"Think he just got you, bro'," Espo declared.

Beckett threw in. "What is this, The View?" Briefly wondering about commitment, her new commitment to Rick, "Where are we on the boyfriend?"

"His story checked out. Video and a sign-in sheet," Esposito advised the group.

"Great. So, all we have is a cheating husband with a possible alibi and no cell phone to try to lift the perp's fingerprints," Beckett responded.

Ryan offered, "I got something better, Beckett."

"Please tell me it's that the mayor wants him out of here," Kate pleaded rolling her eyes in Castle's general direction, causing the guys to look at the writer both with sympathetic expressions.

"Arr, c'mon Beckett. You always wanted a pet. Got one now," Esposito teased.

"Have you noticed that she gets a little grumpy when she doesn't have a suspect?" Castle asked the men, then smiled to himself while comments were being thrown about between the detectives.

Ryan pushed on with work, cautiously glancing between Castle and Beckett, "Well, we got one now. Guess who wasn't where they said they were the day Sara Manning was killed?"

Beckett asked, "Who?"

"C'mon, guess." He held up his note pad and gave it a bit of a wave to entice the brunette woman.

"I'm not guessing, Ryan." There was a tone of threat in Kate's voice.

Ryan caved. "You're a killjoy, you know that, Beckett?"

"Exactly what I've been telling her," Castle said looking to Kate who shot him a filthy glare that he smirked at. He blew her a kiss the guys wouldn't see. She stared him down holding out her arm to Ryan who obediently handed Kate his pad. She read the name, then looked up at Ryan, who grinned at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Wow."

Ryan said, "Pretty good, huh? Told you, you should have guessed."

It was a few hours later that Beckett and Castle returned to the apartment block where Sara had been murdered and this time they took the elevator to the 12th floor. Beckett knocked on the apartment door to the Peterson's residence.

"Once we've don't this, I'm calling it a day," Beckett announced to her partner, "I'm beat."

"Good idea. Start afresh tomorrow," he said, "You look beat."

"Mm," While they waited for the response to the knock, she gazed at Rick's blue eyes. She pressed her lips together, then murmured, "You look great."

Claudia Peterson opened door. "Detective, what a surprise."

"Hello Mrs Peterson. Can we come in? Ask you a few questions?"

"Sure," she opened the door to let them in.

Beckett cut to the chase. She wanted to go home and didn't want to remove her coat.

"Mrs Peterson, we note you weren't at your office the day Sara Manning was killed, were you. You lied to me. Our Detective Ryan checked with your son's school. The day they called you about Sara not showing up to get your son, your assistant told them he couldn't reach you."

Claudia appeared confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Sara Manning, Mrs Peterson. We're talking about why you lied about where you were the day she was killed. We know you weren't at your office."

Castle said, "Wouldn't have been hard to sneak in your building. Doorman could have been out hailing a cab for someone, taking a delivery."

Claudia suddenly became slightly unnerved. "My husband was having an affair. Did you know that?"

"Actually, we did," Castle replied.

"All these months and I had no idea." Claudia said.

"But you found out?" Beckett asked.

"Sara told me a few weeks ago."

Beckett glanced at Castle wondering if this was their break. "Sara, told you about the affair?"

"Yes. And she'd been a complete wreck about keeping it from me." Claudia replied.

Castle murmured, "Yeah, I'll bet."

"Did you know he was paying her extra?"

"No. He didn't mention that," Beckett answered.

"I mean, imagine him putting Sara in the middle of something like that."

Beckett's brow furrowed, and she asked, "Something like what?"

"Using Sara to cover for himself. I mean, it's disgusting." Mrs Peterson stated.

"Are you telling us your husband wasn't sleeping with Sara?" Castle inquired.

"Howard and Sara? Of course not. It was a woman from his office."

"I don't understand, if you had nothing to do with Sara's death, why did you lie to us?" Beckett asked.

"Because my cheating husband has absolutely no idea that I'm about to serve him with divorce papers. I lied because I was at my lawyer's that afternoon. It wasn't just Howard who could keep a secret."

Kate took a deep breath, her gaze falling upon her partner, who reflected a similar reaction to the new information.

Rick said to Mrs Howard, "I guess we're done."

"Yep," Kate agreed, "Thank you for clearing this up Claudia. We'll leave you to it. Have a arrh… good evening."

"Thank you, Detective, Mr Castle."

They stood on opposite sides of the elevator on the way to the ground floor staring at each other. Kate bit her bottom lip, and she inhaled deeper.

"I'll catch a cab from here." Rick said, observing the way the Detective looked at him, like she wanted to eat him, which reminded him it was getting late. Before the moment was lost, he pulled his iPhone from the back pocket of his jeans and snapped a photo of Kate. "It's almost dinner time and I have a date with a beautiful young red head."

Kate smiled, "Alexis." Rick nodded. "Alright. I'll swing by the Precinct, drop the car off and submit my paperwork."

"Good old paperwork." He watched the descending numbers then looked at Kate and said, "I really want to give you a kiss until tomorrow especially when you look at me like that."

"Like what?"

He flashed the photo of her on his phone. She laughed.

"Until tomorrow? Don't you mean a kiss goodnight?"

"Until tomorrow," he confirmed. "But cameras." He pointed toward the globe. A thought went off in his head, "Actually, I'll come back with you. Its closer to home and I left something there."

"Alright. You can kiss me in the car," she smiled as she walked out of the elevator ahead of him.

"I would like to do more than kiss you," he replied watching her ass as she walked away.

"Castle," she seductively called.

"Coming." He smiled then hurried after her.

That evening, Castle was in his office busy scrubbing the elevator surveillance videos of Sara Manning using two monitors with time clocks running on the screens. The team was missing a vital piece of evidence, being the victim's cell phone that he hoped the surveillance footage might hold the answer to. He was also determined to find something that would lead them to an arrest and, also prove his worth as part of the homicide team.

While he stared at the screen to his left, his peripheral vision saw movement, which was most likely his mother who was snooping about because he had been absent and quiet for some time. Alexis was up in her room doing whatever it was teenagers did nowadays. Before his mother was too close, he slipped the spare phone from the table top into his pocket.

Martha entered the office and stopped inside the doorway.

"I'm about make a coffee, instant coffee. Would you like one?"

"No thanks. I'll stick with my Scotch, Mom," he replied not taking his eyes from the monitors.

"What are you watching?"

"Nothing," he replied, as she navigated the furniture and desk to arrive at a place she could see the monitors.

"You're not web camming again, I hope."

"No, I'm not." It was better he tell her, and not hide it, otherwise she would accuse him of watching porn. "I burned a DVD from some security cameras the police have been looking at... And I've never web cammed, if there is such a word."

"That's your story and you're sticking to it, huh?" Martha leaned over his shoulder peering inquisitively at the monitors. He could smell his mother's perfume, one she had been wearing as long as he could remember, and briefly reminded him of his childhood.

"The police just let you burn a DVD?" She asked, "You realize you're going to have to stop stealing evidence, right?" She watched the activity on the footage, "I thought the purpose of following that detective was to help you write."

"It's called research, Mother."

"Is that what they call it now? She's a gorgeous girl. Have you asked her out yet?" She lightly stroked her son's broad shoulders.

"Maybe I have," he casually answered already aware he was in over his head with his mother. She'd be like a dog with a bone if he gave her half an inch on the subject of the detective, the gorgeous detective.

"And?"

"Mother. She's research." He closed his eyes momentarily, wanting this discussion to pass quickly, but at the same time he enjoyed what he felt just talking about Kate with someone else. He let the video continue.

"Well, you better hope this last Derek Storm book sells, lover boy, 'coz _research_ don't pay the bills," she paused from talking and he paused the video, then glanced between the two screens. Martha asked, "Is that the nanny?"

"Yep."

"What married woman in her right mind invites a girl that pretty into her own home?"

Castle shrugged and started the video again, glancing up to see his daughter enter the office, with a few energetic bounces.

"Hey, what are you guys watching?"

"I'm watching, she's butting in," he replied, then added, "The police can't find the nanny's cell phone. They were hoping to lift fingerprints from it. I just thought I could see if she had it with her when she went down to the laundry room."

"And?"

"Well, it's in her hand the first time, when she took the clothes down to wash. But, she didn't have it when she went down to use the drier."

"So, she probably left it upstairs in the apartment where she worked," Alexis said.

"They say they can't find it." Rick paused, then said, "Wait a second."

"What?"

"There's a five second difference." Castle reversed the footage, then fast forwarded it until the young woman stepped out of the elevator, then he moved to the other monitor and fast forwarded the second video again.

"A five second difference in what?" Martha inquired.

Castle pointed at the monitor, "She rode the elevator twice to the basement. Once to put the clothes in the wash, the second time to put them in the drier. Only the second time the trip took her five seconds longer."

"Why would it take her longer to travel the same distance?" Alexis asked.

"It wouldn't," Rick replied, glancing at the time. He had plans to call Beckett soon before they tucked in for the night. "Perhaps I know where the phone is now."

"You do?" Alexis asked, then said, "On another floor."

"I think so, Honey. I can't wait to show this to the guys, but that's enough for tonight," he declared then shut down his computer. He smiled at his daughter, "Who wants ice cream?"

"Me!" She squealed and with that ran off out of the office.

Martha rolled her eyes at her granddaughter, then patted her son's broad shoulder, "Darling, you're looking very content the past few days. I hope whoever she is, that she continues to make you happy," she took a breath, then added, "while doing your research."

"I don't know what you're talking about mother. Not seeing anyone. Don't have time with all this police work."

"Arr…its early days. Its glorious and intoxicating," she cooed quietly to ensure Alexis didn't hear them, "It's okay to keep it a secret, Richard. I do hope it's that lovely Detective you've been following around. She's simply divine."

"Never will I kiss and tell, Mother. You brought me up to be like that."

"I know. But don't let that one go, my Darling. She's worth the fight."

"I still don't know-"

She laughed with endearment, "Richard, you have the face of a man who has been-"

"Mother," he lightly warned as he stood up encouraging her to leave the office, "I have no idea what you're saying." He followed her out to the kitchen wondering whether he did have the expression of a man who had been properly laid, because he certainly felt that way.

He glanced at the time as he grabbed a couple of bowls from an overhead cupboard. Alexis was busy taking ice cream and assortments out of the fridge. It was close to 9.30 pm. He'd had to wait for Beckett to leave the precinct, that was once she had finished her paperwork. By now she should have gotten home. She said she'd catch a cab because it was late. Before he could make a call though he had to think up an excuse to go to bed earlier than usual without making it obvious to the two extremely intelligent women he lived with. Everyone knew he was a night person, but the extra hours working with the cops and their nocturnal activities had blown the wind out of his sails that day. In fact, he was quite buggered, and was looking forward to a decent night's sleep. He wanted to be with Beckett but another night from the house would raise suspicion. His mother was aware he'd been out the entire night before and she had, much to his relief, not inquired too much about what he was up to. She did after all understand he had needs. He would tell her about them when he needed to.

Alexis crashed first and said she was going to bed. They all decided it was time to head to bed. Once the ladies were upstairs, Rick turned out the lights to the living area and retired to bed. He was just about to call Beckett when a text came in from her telling him she was home and could talk.

He called Kate using their secret phones, realizing this was their first night apart and their first real late night personal call.

"Hi," Kate greeted bouncing on to her bed. She kicked down the bed sheets.

"Hi Babe, are you locked up safe at home?"

Kate smiled in response to his question. It was endearing that he cared about her being safe. With limited thought control, her voice sounded higher and softer. "Yes, I'm just getting into bed. I'm putting you on speaker." She placed the phone on a pillow beside her.

"Just for curiosity, what you wearing?"

"Rick." She rolled her eyes as she reached for the body lotion.

"Seriously. What you wearing? I need a picture in my mind."

"Umm. She glanced down at herself, her body dressed in the t-shirt he'd left at her place. Beneath the t-shirt that smelt of him and his cologne was her panties. "A white top, socks and undies." She bit her lip, trying not to laugh because she was positive he would want to hear she was wearing lacy lingerie or nothing. He seemed that type of guy and had already hinted he enjoyed buying women gifts of clothing especially lingerie. At the other end of the line he gave a grunt of thought, of what seemed slight disappointment. "What you thinking, Castle?"

"Oh, nothing."

"You're a terrible liar."

Rick snorted, "You're right. I have this fantasy about you in a lacy black number, you know, garter belt, the suspender stockings and heels. Beautiful legs. Your fair skin, though a couple of days in the sun and you would be quite tanned with your complexion. But in this case, you're fair, and you are-"

Kate stared at her legs as she applied body cream to them. Listening to his softer voice, the seductive tone, his words, the depth of his emotions entwined in them. His voice alone had the ability to create a stirring within her loins, an ache for him. She lifted the t-shirt, pressed it to her nose and breathed in deeply, closing her eyes.

"-yeah, it would be high heeled shoes." He fell silent.

Kate peered down at the phone waiting for him to continue. With a sudden surge of guilt that she'd been sprung getting off on his scent and voice, she let go of his shirt.

"Kate?"

She cleared her throat, "I'm here."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure you'll be able to handle it, Ricky." She answered with a cheeky undertone that spilt into laughter.

His rich laugh sounded through the phone into her bedroom. "Christ, I hope it's what I imagine you're doing."

"Ha. I bet you would love it." Kate laid back against a pile of pillows then pulled the sheets over her body. She picked up the phone, turned it off speaker and put it to her ear.

"We should Face time, one night," she suggested.

"Good idea. So, what are you doing?"

She snickered, "Really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Are you in bed?"

"Yes, and I have a tent bed," he replied quite seriously. "Impressive tent bed, Beckett. And you're not here."

Kate laughed. "Oh yeah, now what was it? Large, um?"

"Oh so we're going there-"

"Yes." She stalled her laughter, took a breath and said, "Just thinking about your large claim, has my fingers gliding over my moist, hot …" she moaned lustfully, "so hot." She gasped, "Oh God," she squeaked, then released a moan.

With a deep voice, Rick asked, "Are you done with pretending?"

She opened her eyes to the ceiling. "What?"

"You're faking it," he stated matter of fact.

"No, I'm not."

"I bet you are. I know your sounds, Baby, and that's not them," he declared then chuckled.

Kate huffed, "Alright writer boy. Tell me a bedtime story with a very happy ending."

"Happy ending. I can do that. M or R rated happy ending?"

She thought for a second. "R rated. _Really_ R rated. Like, will have me begging for you to come over here."

"Challenge accepted, little Miss Pervert." He cleared his throat. "Should I go jump in a taxi now?"

She laughed, glancing at the picture of him on the phone. It was a photo she had allocated to his name quite early in their days of getting to know each other.

"I've already written a couple of fantasy stories about us."

Kate's eyes widened. The famous writer was writing stories about her. She wanted to faint. And here she was tempting him to tell her a sex story.

"You could read one of them."

"No… where's the fun in that, Kate? This is more challenging. Okay. First of all, did you find my t-shirt I forgot to bring home?"

Kate squeezed her eyes shut. Did he really have spidey senses as he said he did?

"Arr… where did you leave it?"

"With your clothes on the floor in the bathroom, when I was fucking you before work."

"Oh yeah. The shower." She teased. "I'll go see."

She heard Rick sigh heavily.

"What?" She inquired.

"Go find it."

"Alright." Kate remained where she was in the bed but made a bit of noise with the bedsheets so he thought she was moving.

"That was a really good session in the shower. You came, you were so tight."

"I found it." Kate interrupted. "I threw it in the wash basket."

"Ar huh. Sure."

Kate looked at his face on the phone. She could swear he hadn't believed a word she said. "What do you want me to do with it?"

"Leave it in the wash basket. It's dirty." He proceeded to laugh which provoked a few noises of frustration from Kate.

"Do you think I'm wearing it?" She suddenly asked not able to stop herself because he seemed so hell bent on teasing.

"You're wearing it. Both nights you've ended up in my clothes. Never took you to be that sort of girl."

"What sort of girl?"

"Type that likes to wear the boyfriend's clothes."

"Its security," she replied without thought. "Smells of you. I think you're near."

Again, he cleared his throat, this time not saying anything. Kate stared at the ceiling, understanding they were sharing one of those moments; a shift in their relationship. She had just confessed to him in subtext that he provided her something she had lacked. She smelt his scent on his shirt, infused in the blankets of her bed. She missed his presence.

"I miss you." She whispered surprised by her own admittance and the absence of a filter between her mind and mouth. Usually she would suppress that sort of statement.

"Miss you too." He paused, "I haven't started the story and you're already wanting me there."

"Yep. I miss you, Rick," she confirmed with more confidence. "I won't admit it to anyone else."

"I know." He sighed then asked, "Are you in bed?"

"Mm."

"Turn off the light."

Kate obeyed by turning off the bedside lamp, and the room fell dark but for the phone's light that faded when she put the phone back to her ear.

"Done. Now tell me a story," she demanded.

"You're so bossy."

"And you get off on it."

"Maybe."

"Are you always like this?" He asked then laughed with her.

"Story."

"A woman, a very pretty woman, but a very slutty one …"

"Castle," she interrupted sternly.

"What?"

"Cut to the chase."

"Oh. You want Judith Krantz slutty."

"Who?"

"Judith Krantz. Scruples. Early eighties. You can borrow my copy."

"I will. Can I give you a lift-off line?"

"If you want."

Beckett giggled into the darkness of her bedroom, then bit her lip and with her right hand she lifted up the t-shirt and slipped her fingers beneath her panties.

"She's exotic, tall, a brunette, lying on her back on the bed. Her hands are cuffed to the bed head-"

"Oooh. Kinky."

"She is going to be taken by someone but she doesn't know who because she's blindfolded."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief. "Let me take over this …."

"Go ahead."

"Take your hand away from your bits," he ordered with a deep voice.

"Oh! Castle." Kate's heart thrummed with the tone of his voice and she removed her hand, sliding it to her belly button.

"She's wearing a red lace dress, Coco Chanel number 5, Jimmy Choo Black pumps. I'm looking at her." There was a pause, "She's gorgeous. I want her. She oozes sexuality."

Kate slid down the bed, focused on his voice and what it did to her body. Her fingers traced over the swell of her left breast, teased it. In her imagination, she went back to when he'd said he wanted her the first time, how much he wanted her, how he wanted her, his eyes intensely blue, his lips swollen and pink from kissing her, what his hand had felt like the first time he'd touched her. His hands had trembled, but his fingers had been warm, tender, a little hesitant.

Her breathing shallowed. He spoke about the woman, described her, described their first time.

"I'm nervous." He murmured, "I don't want to ruin this. I'm hungering for her. I catch whiffs of her sexual scent. It creates surges of desire to have her. I wait for her to open herself to me. So, I softly kiss her mouth, her jaw, and I feel her body rise to meet me. Her skin is incredibly soft and smooth. She arches her spine to me. Yes, please God let this be real. She exposes her throat to me and take it, kiss her-"

In the darkness, Kate moaned, sliding the fingers of her right hand between her legs. She whispered, "I'm so wet-"

"Oh sweet .. my fingers slide between her folds, feels like silk, bliss, my heart is pumping, my body is primed for her. Her fingers touch me … linger at the tip of me then she wraps her fingers around me. I gasp-"

Kate imagined in, saw her own fingers surround his shaft, her mouth watered, her body arched, her fingers replicated what he described. She released a moan, her hips rolling against her hand. She was coming. She climaxed quietly getting off on the sound of his voice his description, and she could hear his arousal coming to an end-"

"-kissed the flesh of her inner thigh-"


	14. Chapter 14

_University is done and hopefully I pass the subject and have a degree. This chapter is a filler, and finishes the second part. Going forward will hopefully allow more stuff between what we have seen. The object of this story is to work within a constrained storyline which is the one already in existence and fill it with extra bits which sometimes means scenes might be extended or added to in between, and try to keep the relationship a secret. It's all fun to write and I hope its just simply fun for you all to read. It's simply for fun and now the pressure of uni is off, I can focus more on playing in this._

 _So enjoy._

 **Chapter 14**

"I wish you would tell me why you wanted to meet here this morning." Beckett began as Castle closed the door on the cab. She put the phone away. They had been talking on their phones when he had been in the cab.

Rick tidied his clothing, "Because I figured out something last night, and I need to prove it to myself, and you, because you're my partner. But I know I'm correct."

"In the elevator?" She asked as he stepped in close to her, so close there was barely an inch between them. She longed to reach up from her toes to give him a kiss. His breath was minty, his cologne fresh and he had shaved. Her body responded to his proximity in ways it never had with any other man.

"Mm." He studied her face, seemed to recognize something because smiled boyishly, "Oh, Miss Beckett, you have such a naughty and untapped side."

She couldn't restrain the smile, wondering what he saw that had him make that comment, "If only you knew."

"I'm gonna know. Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied.

"You smell divine," he whispered leaning in closer to her ear, looking about them. The taxi pulled out and continued down the small street.

"Thank you. You look amazing," she sincerely said which caused him to look down and assess himself.

"What happened with the end of the story last night?" They commenced to walk side by side along the pavement to the apartment block where their victim, Sara, had been murdered.

"You fell asleep," Rick replied.

"No I didn't… you got to where he was kissing her inner thighs…"

"And then it just stops, right?" He smirked.

"Yeah, it does. Goes blank."

He gave a grunt of thought, "Yes. Well, I got further along than that by the time I realized your moans of pleasure had morphed into little purrs of snoring."

"I don't snore," she hotly objected.

"I said purrs-"

"Of snoring."

"Well, in that case, neither do I snore."

Kate snorted and gave him a look of disbelief he'd even attempted to deny it.

"What?" He asked.

"I can't believe you said you don't snore."

"See, I told you I was like everyone else. Just a regular guy who writes for an income."

Beckett gave him an odd sort of smile then bit her lip to suppress her expression. In that instance, she realized she like him a little bit more.

"What are you thinking?" He asked inquisitive.

"You're not like everyone else to me, Castle," she said then popped herself up the stairs to the foyer entrance and showed her badge to the doorman who let her through.

Rick momentarily stood at the base of the steps pondering over what she meant, then hurried after her before the doorman locked him out.

Not a minute later, they were in the elevator.

"So, you got your happy ending?" Rick asked while they waited for the doors to close.

She pressed her lips together, restraining a cheeky smile, and when she looked at him she saw he was pressing her for an answer, "Maybe."

"I certainly did," he said then pressed the close button. "Here we go."

Castle timed the trip from the ground floor on his watch.

Beckett stood in the middle of the elevator, watching what Rick was up to, intrigued as to why he had insisted they meet at the apartment site of the murder before they went to the Precinct. "I'm not sure where you're going with this, Castle."

"Up," he answered, holding his wrist up to keep a close visual on his watch and the floor numbers. He hit a button. "Okay. That's thirty-two seconds." The elevator doors opened on 12th floor. They remained in the box, "It takes thirty-two seconds to get from the basement to the twelfth floor," he said to Kate.

Beckett rolled her eyes, "Great. I'll alert the media."

Castle hit the ' _door close'_ button on the elevator's console. The doors closed. He mentally noted how grumpy she was in the mornings if she wasn't provided food and coffee. He would fix that from here on out. "Are you hungry?"

"Mm. A little."

"What did you have for dinner last night?"

"Fruit and yoghurt. You?"

"Alexis and I cooked salmon and steamed vegetables."

"Mm."

"We'll pick up breakfast on the way to the Precinct," he said as he continued on his time related mission, "Only the second time, it took her thirty-seven seconds," he informed his partner, watching the numbers ascend over the door once again.

"Why would it take five more seconds?" She asked suddenly very interested.

The car came to a stop. The light on the panel indicated they had arrived at the fifteenth floor.

Rick smiled, and with a triumphant tone he replied, "Because she wasn't coming from twelfth floor the second time." The doors opened "She was coming from the fifteenth floor." He exited the box ahead of Beckett into the hallway.

"That doesn't make sense, Castle. The Peterson's live on twelve."

"But I'll bet whoever wore that condom lives on fifteen. By the way, that whole elevator thing? I only did it because you smell nice." He smiled. "Really nice this morning."

Beckett gave Castle a questioning look. "You're just stirring me." She said as he hurried off ahead. She followed her eyes widening to disbelief when she saw him rap on a door.

"Castle, what are you doing? You can't just knock on people's doors."

"Why not?" He asked waiting for a response from the resident of the apartment.

"Who is it?" An old man called out.

Beckett hissed, "Because you're gonna freak them out." She then shouted back loud enough to hear through the door, "Police." She stared at Rick while the man on the other side of the door released the chain and slid the lock. The door opened and there appeared an elderly man easily in his seventies.

"You're the police?" He inquired looking from Beckett to Castle.

Rick replied, "She is... Sorry to bother you, but do you live here alone?"

"Yeah. Why you wanna know?"

"Doesn't matter. You're not young enough."

"Young enough for what?" The old guy asked loudly.

"To have sex." Rick articulated his words so the old guy would hear.

"What kind of cops you say you were again?"

Beckett said, "He's not a cop. I'm a cop."

"And you're looking for someone to have sex with?"

Kate pressed her lips together to stop the giggles trying to escape. Meanwhile, a door opened down the hallway and woman exited that apartment with a little girl.

"Castle." She alerted and indicated down the hall, "Check it out."

He spun about to see the woman and child, "Isn't that Becca, the girl we saw in the park with Chloe Richardson?"

Beckett nodded then said to the elderly man, "Sorry to bother you, Sir."

"No bother at all. Stop by any time," he replied and watched the younger people hurry up the hall.

Beckett approached woman. "Excuse me. But this little girl is Becca, right?"

"Yes. How do-?

Beckett pulled out her badge and showed it to the woman. "I'm Detective Beckett and this is Mr Castle. I would like to have a word if I can please. We are investigating a murder."

"Sure. I'm Diana Harris. Come back to my apartment. We can talk there. We just need to be quiet as my husband is sleeping."

"Sure. C'mon Castle," Becket softly said as she followed the woman back to the doorway she had just come from. Kate felt Rick's hand secretly take her left and hold it while the woman unlocked the door.

Inside the apartment, they find a reasonably nice home, with children's toys scattered about the house. It's neat but lived in. Castle roamed the living area, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings, while Beckett filled in Diana Harris on the information she was permitted to share.

"Prior to her murder, we think Sara Manning came from this floor," Beckett said.

"Well, I don't know anything about it. I was at work. But maybe she came up to see Chloe."

"Chloe Richards?"

Diana gave a nod, "Yes. Chloe takes care of my daughter, Becca. Sara and Chloe were close friends and our kids sometimes get together for play dates.

A bedroom door opened and a man in his late thirties entered the living area, looking sleep ruffled. He looked to each person present, finally his wife. "Hun, what's goin' on? I thought you guys were going out."

Diana replied, "It's the police."

"The police?" He looked confused and sleepy now.

Still away from the group, Rick observed Ian Harris, mainly his body language.

His wife said, "They think Chloe's friend Sara might have been up here the day she was killed. Wait. You were home that day, right?"

He scratched his head and looked dumbly about, "Um, what day was that?"

Beckett glanced at Castle, both recognizing the man's nervous behavior.

"Tuesday." Beckett replied as Rick stepped beside her.

Mr Harris relaxed, "Yeah. Yeah. I was here."

Beckett asked, "Did you see Sara?"

"Um, I don't think so," he said.

Wide eyed, Kate queried, "You don't think so?"

Castle interrupted the discussion by asking, "Mind if I use your bathroom?" Everyone turned to him. Kate shot him a what the hell look. He ignored her as he continued speaking. "No one really thinks about cops, you know? When they use the bathroom."

Mrs Harris pointed a hand, "Second door on your right."

Castle moved off toward the doorway she pointed at. He closed and locked the door behind him as per usual and made a beeline to the medicine cabinet. He opened the glass door and searched the shelving. What did he find? A box of condoms. Same brand he'd bought for himself and Beckett, which caused him to smirk. Their box wasn't going to last long the rate they were making their way through condoms. He flushed the toilet, ran the water in the basin then left the room.

Beckett was talking when he returned to the living room.

"So, then you're saying you can't say for sure one way or the other."

"Well, after Chloe got here to take care of Becca, I went inside to take a nap. I work most nights." Mr Harris explained.

Castle walked behind Beckett, whispered in her ear, "Condoms."

His statement unsettled Beckett who was focused on the subtext coming from Ian Harris' physical movements.

"What... is it you do, Mr. Harris?" She inquired.

"I'm a musician."

Castle crossed behind Beckett again. Whispered again. "Condoms in the bathroom."

Mr Harris continued, "So, it's possible Sara might have been up here, but I couldn't really say for sure."

"You know, maybe you should talk to Chloe about this." Diana suggested.

"I already have," Beckett replied.

Diana was clearly becoming suspicious. "And what did she tell you?" She asked the detective.

Concealing his actions, Castle took his phone out, surreptitiously dialed a number.

Beckett answered, "That she'd seen Sara earlier that day. But she didn't say anything about Sara being in your apartment."

Diana asked, "What else would Sara be doing here?"

In the background coming from the bedroom Harris had come from, the music tone from Sara Manning's cell phone sounded out. It was a P!nk song.

Diana asked, "What is that?"

Castle replied, "Sounds like someone's cell phone."

Beckett looked at Castle, aware he was up to mischief. However, Ian Harris was caught and his wife realized it now. She paced into the bedroom, in search of the phone. Diana walked around to the other side of the bed, leaned over and found the cell phone on the floor, under the edge of the bed.

Diana yelled out of the room, "Ian? Who the hell's phone is that?"

Kate said so only Rick would hear, "I think we're taking Mr Harris back to the Precinct for a little chat. Let his wife cool down."

"Divorce." He responded with in a murmur, and followed Beckett out of the bedroom to the split up the fight that had erupted spontaneously in the living room.

After the Lawyer Garrison had Ian Harris released from their custody, the group got together to thrash out the evidence collect thus far.

Listening to the banter, Beckett opened a drawer of her desk and brought out a small bowl of gummy bears. She grabbed a few then handed the bowl to Castle. "Well, we know it wasn't Harris who killed Sara."

"Why so?" Captain Montgomery asked accepting a few sweets as Rick held bowl out for anyone to take some.

"Given, he's a cheating creep, but he's not the murdering type. Yes, he's a married man sleeping with a young woman in the matrimonial bed. Bad taste on his part to take her in the family home. But as Castle pointed out during the interrogation, Sara was gone from the apartment at a time to align with the time stamp on the video of her in the elevator." Beckett said.

"We would probably know more if that lawyer hadn't of busted the party." Castle stated, "I thought the wife would leave him stewing with us, so was so pissed off at him."

"I would have utilized the time to change the locks." Kate said and popped a gummy bear in her mouth. She gave Rick a tiny hint of a smile.

Ryan got off his desk phone and as he approached the group at Beckett's desk, he said, "Lab says condoms are a match."

"So, we can prove they had sex," Montgomery said.

"Look, if Chloe was home by one o'clock there's no way he had time to get down to the basement, kill Sara, then get back upstairs," Beckett commented.

Esposito suggested, "Maybe we oughta pick Chloe up? See if she backs his story?"

"You don't have to," Castle replied.

Minutes later Castle, Beckett, Ryan, Esposito and Montgomery were gathered around a bank of monitors being controlled by a Police video tech guy who was seated at the controls desk. He had all sorts of contraptions on the desk to help him with his job, and was far better equipped than Castle had been the previous evening.

To get them to the right place, Beckett checked her notes then said mainly to the tech guy, "Our suspect said the victim left his apartment about 12.45. The camera in the elevator puts her on it headed to the basement at 12:48."

"We think she was murdered maybe ten minutes later," Ryan added.

The guy at the controls looked over his shoulder to Beckett, "So what are we looking for?"

Esposito answered, "The nanny who worked for the guy."

Montgomery said, "He claims she got home at one and that he never left his apartment."

The video tech fast forwarded the video until they could see Chloe in the frame. The time stamp read, 12:54 pm.

"There she is. 12:54." Ryan said.

"Six minutes after Sara Manning gets on the elevator," Castle said.

Montgomery said, "So, Harris was telling the truth."

Beckett remained quiet, studying the image. "Wait."

"What?" Castle asked.

"Where's the kid?"

"Where's what kid?" Montgomery asked.

"Becca, the little girl Chloe takes care of." Beckett glancing to Castle for his support.

"Maybe she left the kid in the park with one of the other nannies." The Captain suggested.

"No Sir, Harris said she came home with his daughter at the same time every day."

"What difference does it make, Beckett?" Ryan asked.

Castle, who seemed to understand where Beckett was going answered, "The difference is coincidences don't just happen. Not when they involve a murder."

And Beckett continued, seemingly aware she and Castle were on the same path, "Chloe would have known Sara's schedule. And she'd have known she'd be in that basement."

"Go pick her up," the Captain ordered.

The group scattered from the room leaving the Captain the tech guy alone. Montgomery waved to the guy as he began to stroll out. "Good job."

"No worries," the tech guy replied which caused the Captain to look back at him, wondering what on earth his response meant.

He quietly echoed to himself as he returned to the bullpen, "No worries. Kinda feels good."

After rushing to Chloe Richardson's apartment to arrest her, only to find she wasn't home, Castle and Beckett hurried get to the Harris' apartment where Ryan and Esposito had gone. They now knew they had to find the young woman before she did any more harm.

In the car, Rick used his mobile phone to call Ryan who picked up the call almost immediately.

"Ryan, its Castle. Beckett and I have left Chloe's apartment and we're on the road to you."

"How'd it go?"

"The roommate said that Chloe left about an hour ago. Apparently, she was on her way to the Harris' apartment. She said something happened and they needed her to baby-sit tonight."

"Ok."

"Beckett reckons Chloe must have found out that we took Harris in for questioning and if Chloe talked to his wife, then she also knows he's been released and we know what she does when she doesn't like someone."

"We need to find her, before she finds him," Beckett added.

"What's your ETA?" Ryan asked.

"Umm-" Rick looked out the window to gauge where they were then glanced to his watch, "About five minutes max, buddy. If Miss by the book lets me turn on the lights, four."

"We'll wait for you."

Rick hung up and looked at Kate, "Can I? Please?"

She rolled her eyes, "Alright."

"Awesome," he said like a ten year old boy and then hit the button. With lights flashing brightly in the street and against the buildings and windows, Kate pressed down on the accelerator.

Beckett and Castle arrived seconds inside four minutes with the lights ablaze. Ryan and Esposito waited by their car and they approached as the two got out the Crown. Kate grabbed her bullet proof jacket and slung in over her shoulders.

"No answer in the apartment when the doorman called upstairs." Esposito said as an update.

Ryan added, "But he's sure Chloe's there. Says Ian Harris is up there, too. He came home about an hour ago."

"Which means Chloe would have been there waiting for him," Castle suggested.

Beckett peered up at the building, thinking things out, "Alright, look, there's no time to wait for emergency services. We're gonna have to go in ourselves."

Esposito nodded his head towards Castle and asked, "What about him?"

"He stays here," Beckett replied.

"Oh, c'mon. I already signed away my life. What more do you want?"

Beckett sighed, "Okay. But it's accompany and observe, Castle. Not participate and annoy. Got it?"

"But participate and annoy is a lot more fun."

"Stay behind us in the hallway. Don't move unless I tell you," Beckett stated firmly, unwilling to take his crap at the moment.

Castle replied, "Hope to die. Well, you know what I mean."

Beckett turned and headed into the building, the team behind her.

On the fifteenth floor, Beckett, Ryan, Esposito and Castle exited the elevator into the hallway in stealth mode. They silently made their way along the hall to the Harris apartment. As they approached, Beckett noticed the door was slightly ajar which caused a pause in her gait. The men responded and noted what she pointed out. They kept silent as they approach at the doorway. Remaining against the wall, Beckett pushed the door open a little further then quietly checked to see inside the apartment.

She whispered, "Okay, stack up."

Beckett inched closer, as Esposito and Ryan took up their positions behind her. She peered through the open door; sighted the sliver of an image of Ian Harris lying on the floor. He wasn't moving.

Again, she whispered and signaled, "I've got one victim down... We go in on three." The three men nodded, "One, two, three!"

Beckett burst into the apartment with Esposito and Ryan right behind, guns raised, hooking around her.

"Police! New York City Police!"

Ian Harris was on the floor of the living room unconscious, with a golf club next to his body. There wasn't a sign of Chloe. They called for Mrs Harris.

"We're here! We're here!" Mrs Harris responded from inside a room.

"Mrs. Harris?" Beckett called.

"In here! Chloe locked us in the bathroom!"

Beckett said to Ryan pointing at Ian Harris. "Check him." Beckett then cautiously proceeded toward the bedroom, with Esposito carefully checking other areas, as they moved.

"Mrs. Harris, is your daughter with you? Are you okay?"

Diana answered, "Yes. Yes. We're okay."

Ryan crouched at Ian Harris's body, checking vitals.

Beckett called out, "Is Chloe in there?"

"No. It's just me and Becca."

"He's still alive." Ryan yelled.

Esposito quietly entered the master bedroom, as Beckett opened the bathroom door. Diana Harris and Becca cautiously came from the bathroom.

Esposito returned to the living room, his gun down. "All clear. She's not in the apartment."

"Where's Chloe, Mrs. Harris?" Beckett asked.

"I don't know. She must have her key. I was giving Becca a bath. I didn't even know she was here."

The house phone by the front door buzzed.

"That's the doorman from downstairs," Mrs Harris said.

Beckett looked to Castle who stood the open apartment door, then pointed at the phone. "Answer it."

Castle reached out and picked up the phone just as Diana recognized her husband was unconscious on the floor.

Castle said into the phone, "Hello... Okay. I'll let them know." He hung up.

"A tenant just told the doorman that there's a girl in the laundry room. And she has a knife." Rick said to Beckett.

"Chloe. Let's go, guys. Ryan, can you stay here, make sure its safe for the paramedics, please."

Beckett, Esposito and Castle exited the elevator onto the basement floor. Present are three tenants and two workers just outside the laundry room.

One of the workers pointed into the laundry room, "She's inside, just sitting there."

Beckett said to Esposito, "Get these people out of here."

Esposito gave a nod, "C'mon. Everyone take the stairs. Right now. Let's go." He ushered everyone toward the stairwell, while Beckett contemplated her course of action. She raised her weapon to a low-ready position.

"So, what's the plan?" Castle asked.

"To get everyone out of this alive."

"That's a good plan."

"You don't go in. Do you understand?" Beckett stated.

"Yes." He swallowed, recognizing she was being dead set serious and that she was anxious about her immediate future. But he saw she shifted into cop mode and she moved on.

Beckett raised her weapon, approached the open door of the laundry room, peered cautiously through the glass window, to see Chloe, seated on a table in front of the drier, where Sara Manning's body had been found. She held a butcher knife in her right hand at her thigh.

Kate cracked the door and slipped inside the laundry room, he eyes not leaving the young woman. With her back against the wall, she scanned the room for any bodies or injured people. They were alone in the room.

The detective inhaled, determined her plan of action. "Chloe?" Beckett calmly called but Chloe did not respond. Beckett persisted, "Chloe, it's Detective Beckett. Do you remember me?"

"Please. Just go away." Chloe replied sounding not too different to a precocious teenager.

Beckett recognized the tone, perceived the young woman felt vulnerable with nowhere left to run. She crept closer, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Chloe pressed the sharp blade against her thigh, cutting through the denim of her blue jeans. Beckett noticed blood seeped through the jeans.

"Look Chloe, you're hurt. Just put the knife down and let me help you."

"Why don't you just shoot me?"

"Hey. Hey. Look at me." Beckett calmly ordered.

Chloe turned to her.

"No one's shooting anyone, okay?" And to prove her point, Beckett lowered her gun. At that moment she also noticed Castle sneaking into the room. "Unless it's you, if you take one more step in here." She threatened.

Castle raised his hands, backing off slightly.

"He was sleeping with Sara." Chloe stated.

"I know."

"Only the whole time he was sleeping with me, telling me that he loved me, that he was going to leave his wife for me."

"Guys can be like that sometimes. They can lie... And I know when you find out, how it can break your heart." Kate softly shared, trying to reach Chloe some way or another.

"I'm pregnant." Chloe said.

"Then that's just another reason for you to get some help. Right?"

"I only came down to talk to her, that's all. To tell her that Ian and I were in love."

"I know what happened with Sara was an accident, Chloe. I know that."

"I left Becca in the park and came back to the apartment to see if it was true. When I saw Ian's bed, I knew. He went to take a shower, so I came down here to talk to Sara."

"I know you didn't mean to kill her, Chloe."

"She was my friend; but she just didn't get it. When she turned around, I grabbed the bleach and I hit her. And she fell. After, I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, so I put her in the drier."

"Chloe, put the knife down and let me help you. Then you and I can walk out of here and we won't let this guy ruin your life any more than he already has." Kate fell silent to wait for the girl to process the offer. There had to come an end time and she was certain Chloe was almost there. She continued to slide the blade along her leg.

Finally, Chloe nodded softly, then lowered the knife.

"I'm so stupid." She said.

Beckett moved in and took the known from Chloe's hand. "You're not stupid." She replied, "You were easily manipulated by someone who should have known better than to treat you like that. Hop down and turn about please, Chloe." Kate ordered and the girl obeyed.

"Castle, can you please tell Espo I need him in here. We also need a paramedic in here for Chloe."

Rick nodded and slipped out of the room.

A quarter hour later, handcuffed, and with a bandage around her leg, Chloe was placed in a police car. Castle watched as Ian Harris, who was once again conscious and lying on a gurney, was loaded into an ambulance. Diana Harris stood holding her daughter's hand, a discreet distance away. She wasn't going to the hospital with her husband.

Beckett left the company of Ryan and approached Castle. She looked quiet, a little affected by the situation.

Rick smiled and said, "Looks like I managed to make it through the case without getting injured, shot or killed."

"Yeah, well, maybe tomorrow." Beckett replied.

"By the way, really loved that whole sisterhood thing you ran back there."

Rather impatiently, Beckett answered, "I wasn't running anything, Castle. What this guy did has consequences. Only he'll get to just walk away."

"Not scot-free, he won't, Beckett. I'm sensing a pretty big divorce settlement in his future." He gave a wave of his hand in the general direction of the wife.

"Whatever it is, it won't be enough," she said, "I'm heading back to the Precinct to wrap this up, Castle."

"Tomorrow, Beckett," he said and gave her a wave as she backed up.

"Night, Rick." She turned and hurried off, to meet the guys back at the Precinct.

Castle waited on the pavement until his partner was safely within her police car. He then started walking in the other direction towards home hoping he would be able to wave down a cab soon.

That evening Castle planned to remain at home. After he ate dinner with Alexis and played a game with her, he took himself into his home office because he wanted to write. Really wanted to write.

While he wrote, Alexis studied at the dining table with her books spread out everywhere. She played music from her laptop. He hardly heard it.

Rick remained reclined on the office chair, his shoes rested on the edge of the desk, and his laptop was on his lap.

At the top of the page the text read: _Nikki Heat had been in love. That was obvious. But what he didn't know until that very moment was…_ and he continued to rapidly type _…_ _her heart had once been broken._

A knock on the door disrupted him. He looked up, sighed, felt like he had come out of a dream.

"Hey, Honey."

"So? Did you guys get him?"

"On their way up the river as we speak," he answered his eyes still on the screen.

"Cool. Was it who you thought?"

He shifted his attention to his daughter, and hit save. "Actually, it wasn't."

"Wow. Must've been a pretty good story to surprise you... Better be careful or you'll turn into one of your readers."

"Okay, now you've ruined it," he said.

"You know it's okay to be surprised sometimes. That's the fun."

He smiled then softly said, "You surprise me all the time."

Alexis smiled, "See you in the morning, Dad."

"Night, Pumpkin."

Castle returned to focus on his laptop. Alexis paused on her way out and turned to face her father.

"Dad?"

"Yep?"

"Thanks for being my nanny."

He looked at her, filled with pride, wearing a smile only his daughter saw, "No sweat, kiddo."

Alexis waved him goodnight as she headed towards the stairs.

Castle sat for a moment, reflecting on the times he had taken his daughter to the park, the zoo, then he closed the laptop. He pulled open the top drawer to his right and fished around for something that wasn't there. He pushed the drawer closed then opened the top drawer to his left, searching. He reached to the back of the drawer finding what he wanted. He fetched it from the back of the drawer: a small framed photograph of himself and Alexis, when she was about four, in a park, walking hand-in- hand, away from camera. It seemed like yesterday and here she was almost grown up.

He stared at the photo, pondered about whether Beckett wanted to experience raising children, being a mother. It was early days for them. But it made him consider that if they did work out, there was a high chance Kate would one day bring up that she wanted to have her own children, that he would raise another child perhaps children with Kate. The thought of it didn't scare him at all.

He placed the frame on the desk, picked up his phone and started to tap out a text to the brunette woman.

Alone, in her apartment that evening, Kate retired to bed early to read for a while. As she applied moisturizer to her hands and arms, she thought about her day shared with Rick, the conversations that surrounded the murder case. It had raised premature discussions between two new friends who were lovers already. They were muddling their way through it, barely knew each other but it all felt right. Rick was a little older than her, had a teenage daughter. If, and she really questioned that, they did stay together, would he want to start again with another woman and create more children. He'd raised his daughter remarkably well. There was also the question of having a relationship with a man who lived with his daughter. Would Alexis accept her with or without conditions?

She opened her book where she had left off the night before and began to read. Only minutes into reading her phone beeped with an incoming text. It was after 11 pm and they weren't on call. It would therefore only be one person.

Castle. The text read. _I am sincerely very glad you got dumped. He was a fool. Always x_

She smiled. She really had cried a lot when her boyfriend had left several months ago to advance his career. She would have done the same thing but it didn't change the fact his departure from her life had hurt. They had both resolved a long distance relationship wouldn't work. Tonight, she no longer cared where he was, what he was doing, nor lately had she spent time wondering who he might be with, whether he had a new girlfriend in his new city. She didn't care anymore.

She tapped back, _So am I_. K x


	15. Chapter 15

_A filler …. The person who went out and bought s1. Your comments made my day. Thanks for those who leave reviews. Love them. Wonderful to see how you all view it. This is while I'm working on the rest of it…._

 **Chapter 15 – in between murders**

The secret phone tinged with an incoming text message. Rick grabbed the phone to read it. He smiled, rose from the office chair and walked through the living room to the front door. Before he opened the door, he turned and looked at the stairs. His mother and daughter were in their respective beds and had been for a couple of hours. He unlocked the door and swung it open.

There stood Kate in a beige and black trimmed trench coat, a white woolen hat and black heeled boots. She also had a large leather hand bag over her right shoulder. However, his eyes were stuck on the red lipstick neatly applied to her lips. She also had lots of black eyeliner on.

"Beckett?" He asked then swallowed, because his imagination was hard at work guessing what might be worn beneath the coat. "Gone with a little slutty tonight. Good girl."

Almost offended she stated, "You're meant to drag me inside to your bedroom to rip this coat off me to see what lies beneath."

"My imagination is already in the bedroom," he answered. "Christ," he muttered in disbelief, roughing up his hair. "I was expecting jeans and sweater."

"Huh. You have no idea." She teased, then patted his jaw as she walked inside the apartment her heels clicking on the floor boards, her ass swayed beautifully.

"Babe," he snagged her wrist as she passed which caused her turn about to look at him. She grinned as he pulled her back to his space, only stopping when her chest was pressed to his and her arm slipped around his shoulders. She looked at him their faces very close. "Red lip stick," he growled, "sexy."

She giggled, "You like it?"

"Give me that bag and get in my bedroom before my mother hears you. I'll then show you how much I like it."

He let her go and pointed in the direction of his room aware she hadn't visited his home before tonight. She hurried ahead, so agile on the boots that had her standing almost at his height. He followed watching as she pulled the crochet hat from her head, her dark short hair ruffled. Just before she got to the double door, she looked over her shoulder at Rick. He encouraged her to keep going through it with a wave. He locked the door once he was inside the bedroom. His family understood that door locked meant he didn't want to be disturbed unless it was of an urgent nature.

Kate stood in the middle of his expansive master bedroom slowly gazing about as though she was in awe of the room. He circled her until he stood in front of her, giving her a couple of feet of space to get comfortable in the new space.

"Wow, Castle, what a bedroom. Impressive. But the raging elephant is a little imposing."

"He's great. It's a practical room for a single man. And," he stepped in to her, reaching for the bag still hanging from her shoulder, "I hope it's the same for a taken man."

"Mm." She responded noting the bed, "Big bed, Castle."

"And you know I like to spoon."

She giggled. "Big enough for an orgy."

Rick paused his thoughts kind of surprised that comment had come out of Kate's mouth so quickly and more so, how casually. It then gave him a few snippets of images he didn't really need to think about right now. He cleared his throat watching his eyes that inquisitively eyed him off. She was testing him.

"Yes it is, but no it hasn't been subjected to one, well not this particular bed anyway…" he trailed off not able to tolerate the look she continued to give him for much longer before he would fold.

"I'm jerking your chain, Castle."

"Yeah. You would clean up at poker. You seem so straight laced and I'm beginning to think there's a lot more to you."

She laughed then said, "I'm not so innocent. My mother always said it's the quiet ones you've gotta watch."

"I agree. Is there anything in this bag you want now? Whips, handcuffs, gags?" He asked holding it up.

Her brow furrowed. "I'm slutty, not dominant."

"Oh. So, you didn't dig about in your kinky box tonight."

"Oh Castle," she cooed, "It's all about the tease tonight."

"And you do that all the time. Want anything?"

"Only my personal stuff for the morning."

"So, you're staying the night, Miss Beckett." During the phone conversation earlier, she had been undecided and hesitant about staying the whole night because she didn't want to get caught by his family.

She shyly smiled, "Yes."

"Good. I didn't want you outside in the middle of the night alone."

"Castle, I'm a cop," she stressed.

"Yes, but when you're with me, and off the clock, you're a woman and you're my girlfriend. It's my instinctual thing to protect you."

"Okay," she replied accepting his reasoning.

He placed the bag on the armchair near the right side of the bed then pointed to the gap in the wall, "The bathroom is through there."

"Thank you." When their eyes connected, she smiled, then bounced and clapped her hands in excitement, "Are you ready?"

Rick smirked. "Of course. Where do you want me?"

"Umm …. The bed will do." She pointed to the end of the bed.

Rick obediently sat, full of anticipation. "Good start on the bed." He faced her, his imagination giddy and whirling with ideas about what she wore or didn't wear under the coat.

"Okay. All about the tease," she repeated to herself.

"Did you practice before you came here because I thought flirting was innate in you," he said, putting a hand to his chin. Her present awkwardness was a brief and affectionate reminder of Jamie Lee Curtis before Arnold Schwarzneiger in True Lies.

"No. And no. I'm not a flirt," she objected.

"Ask the boys if they think you are," he replied. He wondered whether Kate would be uncoordinated like Curtis was in the movie, or dance like a stripper. He'd experienced firsthand how well she could use her body so he figured she would be somewhere between, and hadn't she mentioned she was once a ballerina until she grew too tall? He couldn't recall if that was Kate, because there wasn't enough blood being pumped to his brain any longer.

"I'm not asking them."

He mused, "Actually, they'd be too scared to answer that sort of question."

"Do you want me to do this Castle?" Hands went to the hips, temper flared.

"Yes, I do, Detective." He clapped twice. Geez he loved to tease her. Had never teased a girlfriend like he did this one. "Let's go, Honey. It's getting late." He smiled devilishly.

"Tease, my ass. You are such a stirrer, Castle," Kate huffed and stood tall before him staring at his face, then began by slowly tugging on the waistband of her trench coat until the knot gave and coat loosened. From the top, she undid the buttons, one by one her eyes seductively staring her lover down. "I'm not gonna dance for you, Ricky, if that's what you're thinking," she said with a bedroom voice.

Rick had his eyes on her fingers, the anticipation building inside him like a pressure cooker. The first thing Rick caught sight of was the black lace of a bra. He held his breath. The next button down he saw the fairness of her bare skin, the toned contours of her tummy. When the coat fell open showing what laid beneath, his hand went to his chest with a loud slap.

Kate was in black lingerie, the full affair: a spectacular bra, well fitted garter belt, panties, she turned, oh G-string panties, lace suspender stockings and leather knee high boots. She shrugged her shoulders free of the coat letting it fall to the floor.

"Oh fucking hell. I'm speechless. If I die tonight, please be assured I died a happy man." The outfit was perfect.

Kate laughed. "Really?"

He held out his hands. "Oh yeah. Please." He pleaded and wriggled his fingers, "Please come here." Then he put up his hand to stop her.

"May I please take a photo? I will never share it with anyone."

Kate thought about it. "Yes, so long as if we take these sort of photos of each other, then they are just for us."

"Deal. I need a memento of this, you, all that…" He fumbled to claim his phone from the bedside table, dropped it on the floor clumsily scooped it up then stood up.

Kate looked at his groin, at the erection poking out his track pants, internally pissing herself at his overall response. "Better hurry Castle."

"Yeah." He glanced down at himself. "I'm ready. I hope you're not tired because I'm making this a marathon."

"Take the damn photo."

Rick looked at her standing like a cop, her feet spread further than her pelvic width, her arms crossed. She had that angry little expression she gave him in front of the boys. It was incredibly cute. He snapped a picture, checked it then said, "Now, lose the Detective and let the girlfriend out to play."

Kate obliged, lifted her hands into her hair and morphed her body into a sexy pose for him as though she'd been modelling for years. He groaned his approval, took the photo then tossed the phone to his mattress.

"Now, get here." He ordered.

She instantly rushed to him, only stopped when she was standing between his knees. He cupped her buttocks, bringing her abdomen closer. He pressed his lips to her flesh below her belly button. He could just smell her scent and when the backs of his fingers stroked the satin of panties he felt how much she wanted him. That was all he needed.

"Don't leave yet." He sleepily mumbled, between the kisses she smothered him in. He was flat on his back with Kate straddling him.

"Alexis will be up soon." Kate whispered, and nibbled on his ear lobe.

"We have awhile." He smoothed his palms up her body stopping at the back of her rib cage, holding her there. "Stay. You don't have work today."

She sat up, resting her palms on his bare chest, and she smiled. Rick gazed at her smiling face, wondering to himself if he was really falling in love with this woman. The moment he'd laid his eyes on her he'd felt an awakening deep within, but lately emotions surrounding Kate had been bubbling just beneath the surface. He found he just wanted to be with her more than anyone else on the earth. He decided to be spontaneous. "Do you wanna do something?"

"Yeah. Make love."

He gave her a squeeze. "God you looked hot last night."

She bit her bottom lip, "Yeah, clearly got you excited. You have red lipstick smeared all over your face." She whispered and laughed, trying to rub it off with a thumb.

"I'll have a shower and shave."

"Your whiskers. Mm."

He laughed, thinking about what his whiskers had done to her writhing body last night. "Come for a drive with me today? It's meant to be nice."

She contemplated his invitation, "Where?"

"Anywhere, wherever the car takes us. We'll get out of the city and go have lunch somewhere."

Kate paused her shower of affection to stare at his eyes. "That'd be good. Country?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Pick me up?"

"Yes. Dress casual."

Kate laid down on his body. He swept his hand through her hair. "We get to spend the day together," he murmured sounding rather chuffed at the thought.

"Mm. I would love to spend the day with you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Got your camera?" He asked as she passed him an overnight bag then she followed gliding herself into the Ferrari quite eloquently for a long legged girl.

"Yes. Caught me in time to grab it, thank you."

"Good." He pushed her overnight bag into the back between the seats then looked up to a beautiful smile that greeted him. She had walked five or so blocks from her apartment to ensure no one saw her get in his bright red sports car.

"That was a good idea, suggesting I bring it with us, Castle. I love taking photos." The smile became a grin as she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, then she cheekily whispered, "Hi Lover."

He impulsively smiled, "Hi gorgeous." He gave her cheek a kiss, then checked out what she was wearing. An old denim jacket over a dress and her hair was wavy. She wore bangles of varying sorts and bits of jewelry, presenting quite differently to the way she dressed for work. The make up was different too. "You look pretty." Her cheeks immediately blushed which amused him no end.

"Thank you." She glanced at his blue sweat shirt and denim jeans. "No bad yourself, Ricky."

"Thanks. I brought my camera too since you seem to like being in front of one."

"What do you mean?"

"You love your photo being taken."

"Maybe." She put the sunglasses back down, then clipped up the seatbelt, smiling. "My mother had a thing for cameras. She was always taking pictures. My Dad has thousands of photos. I should get them. The cabin my father has is like an art gallery of me."

"Growing up, I guess."

"Mmm. Me and the dog we had."

Rick put the indicator on to pull out.

Kate stated, "I have whisker rash, Rick."

"Again?" He put his foot back on the brake to inspect her face before he entered traffic. "I don't see it, Hon. You must have fucking sensitive skin."

"No." She gave a little laugh. "It's here. Look, Babe." She slid the fabric of her dress up her thighs and pointed at her inner thigh.

Rick nearly choked at the sight of the fabric going up her thighs. "Oh God," He muttered then peered over the console to see. He lightly touched the red rash on the tender flesh over her gracilis muscle, felt her body react to his touch. "Oh, and both sides." He commented with a proud smile. "That's an SRI." He gleamed with pride.

"An SRI?"

"Sex related injury." He advised.

"Okay." She laughed, "But. Before you take off, look, it's here too."

"There's more?"

"Mmmphh." Kate laughed, as she lifted her dress to her belly button and pointed. Rick leaned over more, grinned looking to her eyes. "No panties?" He squawked. "Are you trying to kill me?"

She shoved the dress down and glared at him. "What? I can't go commando? It's a long dress."

"You can do anything you want, Honey. Bra?"

"No bra. There is one in my bag. In case."

"Fuck. And I thought last night was great." He grinned then said, "Show me where else." He took a breath then pleaded, "Please show me."

"The rash, Castle. Not my bits."

"I promise, Kate." He made a cross over his chest.

She lifted her dress and touched over the red flesh between her pubic bone and belly button. She tried not to laugh, recalling the minutes he'd had her pinned to the bed play fighting with her. He had used his stubble to tickle her into submission.

"It was fun, we had, wasn't it?" He asked, gently stroking his fingers over her abdomen at the inflamed skin, then bravely slid down between her thighs following it with a groan of lust.

"We had awesome fun." She laughed, deliberately closing her knees.

"It's a wonder there's not a severe rash there." He remarked looking at her eyes. She moistened her lips.

"I'll show you when you've driven us wherever it is we're going."

"Oh that's a surprise our destination. So, you're okay if we come back tomorrow? Alexis wants to stay with her friends tonight so I'm a free parent for an evening."

"Let's do it, Rick. I never get out of the city."

He gave her inner thigh a tender squeeze then brought his hand back to the steering wheel. Once he had the vehicle out on the road he returned his hand to her thigh.

"I think we're gonna have fun." He said, as Kate shuffled through her handbag for something.

Once she put the bag to the floor of the car, she wriggled in her seat until she was angled to face him. When he pulled to a stop at a red light he looked over at her face and instantly smirked.

"You have trouble written all over your face, Beckett."

She coyly smiled, her fingers near her mouth, "No."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"It ain't nothing. Your eyes are sparkling. You're thinking about naughty things."

"Castle, we have two days of freedom. No murders, no secrets, no hiding. I can be me around you." She joyously said, totally pumped about the day ahead.

"That's true, we can both be ourselves."

"So where are we going?"

"We'll take Route 80 Northwest to Route 81 North. I found a little place to stay the night."

"Mm. Tell me."

"Camera place. The Fox and the Grapes Bed and Breakfast. Has a vineyard. It was about the tease last night, you little tease. Today, it about the trip. We wanna stop somewhere for whatever reason, we stop. We can check in after 4.00 pm and check out after 11.00 but we'll be on our way by then."

"How many hours of sleep did we have last night?"

He chuckled, pressing his foot on the accelerator once he had opportunity to head more actively towards the open road. "We should be talking in minutes of sleep. Well, you arrived around midnight. You teased me for a good forty minutes I guess, until you succumbed to my advances, then I played about down there for…"

"Succumbed? Rick you basically tickled me to death." She laughed thinking about how much she had giggled. She'd slipped off the bed writhing beneath his body, cackling like a teenager. He'd ravaged her on the floor, and she'd tried to crawl away she'd been squealing. He'd found her ticklish places to begin with, then her body had become so sensitive.

"That was one of the funniest things I've ever experienced. I didn't take you as being ticklish, but when I started to kiss you, your body just went crazy." Rick fell silent, images of her in his hold flashing in his mind. Her body had trembled with excitement. His finger tips stroking over the contours of her form had literally sent her into a meltdown of bliss. Her skin had become extremely sensitive causing her to react like she was being tickled. "You were very funny."

"Best fun." She replied. He reached out to touch her cheek, and she took hold of his hand, tilting her head towards his him. "Roughing me up like that really turned me on."

"Roughing up by whiskers." He joked, then remained still when she sat forward leaning to him. She stroked his jaw, then pressed her lips to the side of his face.

"You shaved this morning."

"Don't worry. I'll have a five o'clock shadow."

"I think it's really hot, when we're working, watching your whiskers grow. By the end of a long day, you're looking rugged."

"You're a tease, Beckett. That's what I'm quickly coming to realise about you." He smiled when she laughed again. It made him happy to hear her laughter.

"I'm not a tease." She eventually said. He patted her thigh.

The drive north was bonding time in a closed in space, the pair needed to seal their night. Kate settled into the hour and a half drive and became the music controller. She also decided upon the places they stopped along the way that allowed the drive to their destination to be an adventure. It not only extended the time of their drive but certainly made it more interesting. Often during the drive, she would take a few moments to sneak a look at Castle whenever she knew he was concentrating on driving. He was a sensitive man. Those who knew well seemed to be aware of it. She noted he seemed to have a lot of friends, didn't mention a best friend, and mostly it was Alexis he would talk about. It was during this time she became conscious that he was the first person she thought of in the mornings and the last person she imagined before she fell asleep.

From the driver's seat, he glanced to her with a smile. He'd caught her out.

"What you thinking about, Beckett?"

She gazed ahead, smiling about what she was thinking, "About how much I like your chest, 'specially in the bed this morning."

"Really?" He glanced to his shirt. "When you were sitting on me?"

"Yes." Kate sat up and pointed ahead to a cluster of small stores along the side of the road, "Pull in Castle."

"Up there?"

"Yes. There's a candy store. I think I've been here before. Best sweets."

"Trust you Kate to know of a candy store." He slowed to search for a car space.

"Yes! This is the place. Pull in, Babe." She pointed to several car spaces ahead, "There's a vacant one."

"I see it."

"They have the most delicious ice cream."

"What flavour are you thinking about?" He brought the car to a halt. With it in park the engine fell silent.

"Too easy. Two flavours." She grinned and showed him two fingers. Her eyes bright.

"Wait." He held up his hand, "Let me guess, boysenberry and strawberry?"

She clapped her hands then excitedly replied. "And you will go the chocolate!"

"Of course, I will." He opened his door as he grabbed his wallet from the console. "Let's go get your candy."

Kate stepped backwards in front of Castle who was strolling along the sidewalk half observing her and prepared to rescue any potential fall. Like her, he ate his ice cream. He was a little wary she might stumble but she was being careful and she knew he was guiding her to ensure she didn't walk into anything. She had her favourite brown leather handbag slung over her left shoulder, a pink and white striped paper bag almost full to brim with sweets nest in the top of the bag and an ice cream in her right. She wore some of the pinkish ice cream about her lips reminding him of last night. Her hair was threatening to stick in it each time the light bursts of breeze swept it up.

Castle had a strong urge to take a picture of her, particularly this moment, so he could remember it forever. She was adorable. With a decision made, his ice cream cone in his left hand he silently pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, pretending he'd felt it buzz. He held it up, smiling, "Katie? Look at me, Honey."

She gave him a broad grin that spread rapidly over her entire face. Her hair was everywhere, ice cream was over her lips and her eyes glistened. He tapped the on screen button and captured the moment very satisfied.

"Cute," she remarked.

He smiled. "Very. You have no idea how cute you are."

"Let me see, Rick." She stopped stepping and waited for him to close the space between them. He showed her the photo which caused her to laugh and wipe her mouth with the back of her left hand.

"Turn around and I'll take both of us."

She instantly spun about so he wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

He held out his phone, leaned into her head and whispered, "I want you." He deliberately gave it a second then took the picture. Kate then turned to kiss him. He tasted the sweet strawberry ice cream on her lips and tongue. He took another photograph. Seconds later she held her cone to his lips knowing he would like some. He had a small bite then held his chocolate cone to Kate. She put her mouth over the ice cream and looked seductively as Rick as she did so.

They ate the cones with a stroll along the row of stores. At the end nearest the car there was a gift store where they window shopped for a few minutes.

"What would we do if we got caught by someone we knew here?" Kate suddenly asked.

"I don't know. I'm waiting for some reader to recognize me, with you."

Kate scoffed, "Fat chance of that." She smiled as he pulled a face at her.

"It will be more fun in LA next week, especially when we're at the fancy dress party."

"Yeah, about that."

Rick stopped eating and stared at her. "Please don't pull out on me.."

"Castle. I'm coming with you. What I meant was, I think I have an idea of who we should go as."

"Tell me."

"Vivian and Edward."

"Who?"

She raised an eyebrow with the expectation he would know who she was referring to. "You don't know?"

"No. Will you look sexy dressed as Vivian?"

She smirked. "Yes, if I wear a certain outfit. And a little slutty. Actually, I would say slutty more than sexy." She nodded in confirmation of her decision, amused by Rick not know who they were. He was fishing in his pocket.

"No." She declared, "You can't Google it."

"Oh c'mon. Are they from some chic flick?"

"Of course."

He had it. He pointed a sharp finger at her. "Got it, Baby. Pretty Woman. You will dress up in the hooker outfit?"

"Of course. So long as you go with the grey hair."

"The long boots?"

"Already own a pair."

"No!" He said in disbelief.

She laughed, "I do."

"The ones you wore last night?"

"Higher. To my thighs."

He leaned against the post with his arm for support. "You're gonna kill me."

"Let's go, Castle." She walked off towards the Ferrari, laughing at his behavior.

"You really own a pair of slutty boots." He said once he was settled in the car. Kate was now fishing around in her bag of sweets and put a sweet in front of his mouth.

"Of course. I wear them in the winter with jeans, if I go out."

"The girl who plays Detective Beckett."

"Me." She replied.

"Where does she go when she's off duty?"

She glared at him. "What do you mean? I'm a cop, Castle. I have to be serious. I came out of the academy top of the class with records that to this day remain mine and I was the youngest woman to become a homicide detective. You're not Richard Castle the writer around me."

"No. I'm just a regular guy."

"Who drives a Ferrari."

"You allow me to be feminine when I've spent the past eight or so years being more masculine." She said, and he instantly lifted her skirt up her leg and placed his hand on her thigh.

"Thank you." He sincerely replied.

"Huh?" She queried.

"For telling me I make you feel like a woman should."

Kate put the bag of sweets into her purse then sat still looking out the front window at the straight road ahead between an avenue of forest, her mind totally focused on what he'd just said and the feel of his palm sliding up and down her thigh. Since they had started dating, he had woken her body and mind up like no other man had. A generous lover, devoted boyfriend who invested in them.

She put her hand over his, and said, "You are sunshine on a cloudy day, Rick."

He gave her thigh a squeeze. "I bed there's many layers to this onion."

She smiled, "You have no idea."

Fifteen or so miles further along the road, unable to drive any further without risking their lives, Castle slowed the car and turned into a rest area. He braked the vehicle between two trees near a picnic table and threw the car into park, a groan escaping him as he peered down upon the mass of dark hair at his groin.

"Oh God, Kate," he mumbled, "Jesus fucking Christ, please don't stop."

Kate laughed but didn't stop what she was doing. Rick's head tilted back and his eyes closed. He relaxed focusing on the way in which his girlfriend delivered pleasure to him. A hand to her back, the other in her hair.

"You are such a good girl, Katie." He uttered, then held his breath. Seconds after, he gasped in response to what she did. He opened his eyes to look down at his girlfriend. Then what she did caused his body to stiffen. He clenched his eyes shut trying to hold off. It was impossible.

"Fucking Geezus, Beckett," he blurted, unable to hold back his body's response to Kate's actions. Minutes later then he re-opened his eyes, Kate push herself up to a sit smiling at him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes watery.

"You like it." She sat back in her seat, and guzzled what was left of a bottle of water, rather pleased at what she could do for this man.

"Detective Beckett," he laughed, then took a deeper breath trying to regain his heart rate, "You are such a naughty girl. Don't change. Please don't change." He tidied his clothing, panting heavily and repeatedly glanced at her face.

"To a good vacation, Castle."

"To a good holiday, Beckett. C'mere." He requested and she immediately leaned over giving him a kiss. "Thirsty work?"

"Surprisingly so."

He started the car, backed it up and drove away with a satisfied smile, giving his girlfriend's leg a healthy pat, unable to hold back the laugh of genuine satisfaction. "I so love having you around."

"Me too."

"You broke in the car, Honey." He teased.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

They sat on one of six garden chairs that surrounded a fire pit. A decent fire was going most like lit mid-afternoon. The sun was almost gone. Kate hade returned to Rick's side after wandering about the gardens taking photographs. After returning the camera to its case, and setting it beside her on the bench, rested her legs over his right thigh, her boots lightly swinging between his calves.

"Did you capture some of the sunset?" He asked.

"I did."

He put his hand on her thigh, "You're cold."

"Mmm. It's got cold huh?" She was pleased she'd brought jeans and a sweater as once the late afternoon arrived the weather had drastically cooled down. By the time they had the key to their room at the bed and breakfast they had both acknowledged it was cold. She began to play with his left hand, sizing his fingers up to her. His right arm snugly held her body close to his. He stared into the fire letting her fiddle. She stayed quiet, enjoying the solitude of the evening, his company without interruptions. To top it off, they had the beautiful garden and open fire to themselves. The lights of the bed and breakfast had come on. The house was quaint, quite pretty and the room Rick had rented for the night overlooked the very picturesque Seneca Lake with their own private balcony. The bathtub was huge and Kate was looking forward to having a hot bath after dinner. After a walk through the grape vines and down to the lake, sitting beside the open fire was just perfect. She reached to her glass of white wine, took a sip then passed it to Rick who did the same.

"Castle?"

"Mmm?"

"Did you notice the chair in the room?"

"The pink one? You left your bag on it?"

"Yes, that one."

"I saw you noticed it."

"It's very pretty."

"It's an antique," he quietly said, tilted his head back and looked up to the darkening sky. The stars were just starting to glimmer. It was going to be a clear night and therefore rather cold.

"It's very different." She entwined her fingers between his, and whispered to herself, "Big fingers."

Rick smiled to himself and closed his fingers softly around her hand, then relaxed his hold. She continued to play with his hand. He thought about where she was directing her conversation about the chair, and what he would like to do to her on that particular piece of furniture. He brought a different kind of smile to his face as he stared at the stars, increasing in number as night settled in.

Kate looked up at his face, stroked her fingers over his chin and down his throat over his Adam's Apple. That caused him to forget the sky. His eyes tracked her hand that came to rest on his chest.

"What's got you so fascinated about the chair?" He asked.

Kate laughed, biting her lip. "I haven't really ever taken much notice of those type of chairs before but I pictured myself on it…."

Rick kissed her before she had a chance to finish her sentence and lifted her so her butt was on his lap as her arms reaching about his shoulders, her response quick and fresh. She maOne glass of wine had her relaxed. When they parted to breathe, he said.

"I will show you the benefits that chair tonight."

"I think I'll show you a few new moves, Castle." She advised, hugging him about his neck as he wrapped his arms about her waist.

"I hope so."

Kate combed her fingers through his hair. "We're so giddy with each other," she murmured watching the flames of the fire that was creating plenty of heat. It was a sweet reminder of nights spent at the cabin when she was a child. Her parents would light a fire in the ground and cook meals some nights. The old pots they had used were stored at the cabin but her father hadn't cooked with them since the summer before his wife's death.

"Giddy." Rick repeated interrupting her thoughts. "If this is giddiness then I want it to last a long time."

"One day, I'll take you to my Dad's cabin. Its not too far from here. We have a fire pit but it hasn't been used in years. Here reminds me of the cabin and the lake."

"When's the last time you were there?" He asked deciding he would let her invitation into the future slide because he didn't want to scare the shit out of her right now. He had her alone for a night and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

"Three or so years. This is the first time I've been out of the city in a long time."

"I have been camping with Alexis. She's out grown it nowadays. Wants to go with her friends not her old man."

"How old is she?"

"Nearly sixteen."

"Okay. Will she be okay with me? Like I don't have experience with boyfriends with kids."

"She'll be fine. Trick is not to be a parent with them. I dated a woman who had kids and I left the parenting to her. Alexis will seek parental support from you when it suits her. It's how we operate. If I'm not around and you are when she needs help, she'll come to you."

Kate patted his shoulder, "You're a good father."

"No. She's a perfect child. More responsible and mature than I will ever be." He smiled then squeezed her, "What do you feel like for dinner?"

"Let's go local. Did you see on the breakfast menu here that they have stuffed French toast? I can't wait."

"You like French, huh?"

"How do you know?"

"I'm observant. You speak it fluently, you visit your cousin, Sofia who lives in Paris…"

"I want to live there for a while one day. Be a Parisian. Life keeps getting in my way."

"I would go live there with you. Always longed to live overseas."

"Really?"

"Yes." He touched her check then cautiously said, "How about, when Alexis is in College, if we're still together, we go for an extended vacation there?"

Kate stared at him, a smile creeping over her face. "Live there, you mean?"

He gave a nod. "Get a place, live there. If that's what you want."

"In Paris?"

He touched her ear, causing her to laugh. "Are you deaf?"

"No." She swatted his hand then held it. "No. I hear you. So, you're saying you would pack up and go live in another country with me."

"France, we're talking about. Yes, I would." He patted her thigh. "What do you say we make a loose plan now. If we're together, in roughly the year 2017 we'll move to Paris."

"That's ages away, but Alexis will be twenty one easily." She nodded then looked at him.

"What?"

"We've only started dating and we're making plans for eight years away."

"Some people get married after a week," he shot right back.

Kate who was looking at the stars in the sky replied processed his rapid reply then said, "I would need more time. That would scare me."

"I know." He too gazed overhead, already well aware Kate was a woman who needed time to adjust. He was surprised she had agreed to a night away together but surprisingly she had jumped on the opportunity. "We'll get to your Dad's cabin first and I hope we have a great time there."

She remained seated on his right thigh while, using his phone, they found a restaurant close by they decided to book a table at.

The fireplace was well alight when the pair returned from dinner about 9.30. They'd shared wood oven pizzas and had brought one back with them. The room was warm enough that Kate stripped down to her under clothes, being panties and a cotton singlet. She sat on the bed, with the bag of sweets bought that afternoon and Rick soon followed her sitting opposite her. He waited for Kate to rifle through the bag of sweets. Once she had hold of a lollipop she passed him the bag.

"Can we have an open question time." She asked, reaching for her wine.

"Of course. What do you want to ask?"

"When is your favourite time to write?"

He gave her a strange look, "Is that is? I was expecting something severely personal, with an answer that would possibly be frightening for you."

"That's it for now." She confirmed, then sipped the wine. "This will taste bad with my lollipop."

"Yes, it will."

"But I want it anyways." With the wine glass back on the bedside table, she started ripping at the packaging of the sweet.

"You really do have a sweet tooth."

"That obvious?" She asked, and saw him nod, "So, your favourite time to write?"

"Yes. Okay. Well, if I'm not under pressure with deadlines, usually in the dead of night when its quiet."

"Dead of night?"

"Mm." He grabbed another sweet and popped it in his mouth. Kate was on the lollipop and was happily sucking away on it which was turning him on. "If you were staying with me, I'd wait for you to be asleep then sneak off."

"You haven't done it yet with me?"

"How many questions is this session?"

Kate smiled. "Unlimited."

"No, because I've been with you and sleep has been more like dosing. I have my laptop with me."

"There will be no sneaking off tonight. I want you holding me all night. Your turn."

Rick watched her stretch out her right leg then peered over at the pink chair. "What were you thinking of doing with that chair over there?"

Kate smiled, her eyes shifting to the ladies' chair. "If only you knew."

"Tell me."

She gave him a seductive stare, "I will do better than that. I will show you."

"I cannot wait. What do you think your Dad would think of me?"

"What?" She asked in surprise, "My Dad?"

"Yeah. Would he approve of his only daughter dating a writer?"

"A rich, successful writer."

"Your father is a lawyer."

"His daughter is a homicide cop." She bounced right back trying to give him a dose of reality. "He's helped me to be able to live in my own place in New York, and not far from him. That was his condition."

"Cute. Only child. We get all their attention."

"No siblings, nephews or nieces. No aunty or uncle."

"True." Rick replied and watched Kate get up off the bed. "Christmas will be cosy with just us."

"Sure will be." She said and walked to the bathroom closing the door behind her.

For several moments, she stared at the chair positioned in the corner of the bedroom. Its colour, a beautiful deep pink, repeatedly drew her eyes to it.

"It's a beautiful chair, Rick. I would love to have a chair like it in my bedroom." She told him. He was laying on the bed facing the chair, the fireplace.

Kate stepped to the chair and lowered herself onto it, crossed her legs right over left. Because it was about a 14 inch height seat, her hips were lower than normal. The chair had a matching ottoman that was positioned a foot or so in front.

"Is it as comfortable as it looks?" He inquired.

"Surprisingly so for an antique." She leaned forward stroking her hands down the length of her shins. "Castle?"

"Beckett?" He raised an eyebrow in anticipation of her continuing. It sounded like she was shifting back into interrogation mode.

"I can get introverted, and perhaps push people away, but I want you to know I'm really committed to us." She said, "So if I pull away sometimes it's not necessarily us at fault. It's just me needing time."

"You need time now?" He asked sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"No… I'm good." She sat up, "I can be prickly."

"Every rose has its thorns." He replied as he stepped to her. "And, isn't that a song?' He perched himself on the ottoman facing her and set his hand on her knee.

"You know it is," she replied.

"Yes." The fire was warm making Kate's skin the same. "I can be a pain in the ass when I wanna be too. I'm not perfect, but by God you look like perfection right now. The colour of the chair suits you."

"I love this chair, Rick." She patted his hand. "You have a try." She stood up and moved aside. Rick swung over and placed his backside where hers had just been. He relaxed.

"You're right."

She smiled, "The colour is divine. You are so bloody handsome." She said with a smartass tone.

"Yeah, I know."

"Egotistical too."

"Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Undress." Rick told her.

Kate looked to Rick's eyes, saw the desire in them as her gaze lingered, then she lowered her eyes to his chest, stomach and groin. She gave a nod. Slowly she lifted off her top exposing her perfectly shaped breasts. She threw the top to the end of the bed then pushed down her panties. Naked she stood before him.

"You're sitting on my favourite chair." She stated.

"I can share. C'mere."

When she sat on his lap, her knees to each side of the armless chair she appreciated how the chair worked for her, for them. She was seated low enough to be comfortable straddled over him. From over his shoulders, she held the back of the chair, and felt his arms surround her waist.

"Perfect." She commented with a smile of approval. "This chair was built for us."

"Sure was, huh?" He stroked his thumb across her left nipple, causing it to harden. A smile broke over his face. "Kate," he whispered.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

She glanced from his eyes to the breast he fondled, her senses and wants heightened by his touch. He had large hands but he was gentle and it turned her on watching him.

"Castle," she said and leaned in for a long tender kiss. At the second they parted, their eyes met. She bit her lip, stroked his hair, then glanced at his mouth. "I want you," she whispered.

"After your misbehavior in the car today-" he trailed off, more fascinated with her body, and the uncontrollable urge arouse her until she was putty in his hand. He once again brushed across her nipple.

"Mm?"

"You are gonna get a lot of me." He mumbled, as he peered down at his lap. He slid his hands to her buttocks and dragged her closer until she was against his groin. She laughed as she tilted her pelvis against him.

"Hard." She huffed, stretching her body upwards so her breasts were reachable for his mouth. He latched on to her right nipple, softly pinching it between his lips, then brought her closer lifting her body upwards against his torso his hands cupping her buttocks. When he relaxed his hold, and she lowered he pushed inside her. She paused the decline, raised herself a little then sunk onto him, tightening her arms around him and the back of the chair. Her body shuddered with a sudden harder suck that sent an electrical shock down her body. She gasped. Her muscles flexed around him. Rick paused breaking contact with her breast.

"I felt that." He looked down to where they were joined, to watch her hips rhythmically roll over him, to feel of her heat, her sliding along the length of his shaft. He let his head back against the chair, closing his eyes to concentrate on what she was doing. Her hands slipped to his shoulders, to his chest and stayed there while she fucked him. There was a sudden shove against him.

He opened his eyes as she stood.

"Give me back my chair, Ricky." She demanded, holding out her hand.

"Our chair." He took hold of her hand and stood up with her pulling him. Kate ensured the towel over the chair was not creased then sat upon it. Time wasn't wasted as she spread her long legs inviting the writer down. She turned her dark eyes upon his. "C'mon writer boy, what's taking you so long?"

"You wait." With a cheeky grin, he knelt on the carpet and leaning on the edges of the seat, hands behind her hips, he kissed his girlfriend's lips. Her hands were at his jaw and using the back of the chair she thrusted her hips toward him.

Inside her again, his finger slid around her clit while he slowly and deeply fucked her, continuing to kiss until her head tilted back. He nibbled at her throat. She released all the right sounds. Her body was relaxed, her hands remained on him and the sounds emanating from her indicated she was approaching her first climax. He penetrated deeply, trying not to climax until he couldn't hold off. He pulled out of her, grabbed her by the knees and lifted her legs into the air.

He let her writhe on the chair, constrained her pelvis as much as he could manage. Every time he glanced up to her face she was either watching him pleasure her, or her eyes were closed, her body boring down against his mouth.

Just before she came, she squeaked out several obscene words. His hand at her belly felt her hold her breath. She cried out, gripping her fingers in his hair. Her breath was held again. Her body rocked through a massive climax.

Rick stood up, pulled her up off the chair and half carried her to the bed. She fell backward to the bed, squirmed up it then reached out to Rick who crawled after and over her. He was hungry to continue their love making.

The second Kate's body jumped on the bed, Rick was woken with a start, and his eyes opened widely. Initially he thought her nerves had reacted to a dream of maybe falling or something. She strongly pushed against the mattress, slamming her back right into his body, with a frightful squeal. Then she spun about her limbs flailing blindly about. When her fingers touched his skin, she jumped again this time as though she had touched a hot iron.

"No!"

Her voice sounded traumatised. Wanting to wake her from the nightmare, Rick pushed the bedsheets of his body and found her using the available light. His fingers recognised her upper arms and took hold of them before she hurt him. She struggled against him.

"Kate, wake up."

She cried out, breathed in and finally grabbed his shoulders, "Rick."

"It's okay. You've had a dream."

"You're alive." She panted her hand finding his face she felt.

"Of course, I'm alive." He let her arms go as she reached around his neck clutching him.

"You're alive."

"I'm alive." He repeated, wrapping his arm about her naked body. Deep inside he was somewhat happy that she was relieved to know he was alive but a larger part of him was worried she was killing him off in her dreams. He closed his eyes, feeling her body recover from the sudden shock of a nightmare. The breathing slowed, her body temperature soared then plummeted.

He stroked his hand up and down the length of her back firmly enough to wake anyone. It seemed to have a positive effect because her vice like grip around his neck loosened. "You awake?" He asked close to her ear and she gave a nod, calming down. "You back with me?"

"Yeah." She rolled to her back, her hand at his jaw. "I'm sorry."

"You had a dream."

"A frightening one. You got shot. I couldn't save you."

"You shot me in your dream?" He asked with a smile. "Already?"

She frowned at him, then appeared quite worried. "You died," she whispered.

"In your dream."

"You can't die. Not you."

"I won't die," he reassured finding her fears a little amusing but mostly unsettling. He hadn't seen the vulnerable side of her much as yet, but it was being exposed to him in the earliest hours of the day.

"Can't die."

He got up on his elbow, now above her, "Baby, I'm joking." He tried to rescue the moment when he saw her eyes well up with tears. The dream had really spooked her. He stroked the short strands of hair from her face. "Don't cry. I'm here." He glanced at the time. They had barely been asleep, maybe two hours at most. "Don't cry," he softly said.

"I won't." She whispered, then wiped her eyes.

"Forget about it, Honey. You had a dream. It's over." Without further ado, he kissed her and she responded strongly, her fingers going into his hair. He soon shifted over her body, pushing her right onto her back. His instincts to protect her were equal to the hormones that spurred his sex drive. He covered her body, her ankles hooked at his backside. Her hands gripped at his shoulders, then shifted beneath his arms. Keeping her beneath him, he forged a path of kisses and gentle sucks from her lips to her left breast, covering the roughly same path he'd explored only hours before. She tasted of them, her body quivered. She was into it, the dream forgotten. A moan escaped her, turning him on, the sound returning when he entered her.

Breakfast was stuffed French toast, berries, cream, coffee and water. They ate on the balcony of their room overlooking the lake. Morning traffic coming from the main road a fair way off was barely audible and there were people running and walking around the lake's edge. In summer the area would be full of birds but only a few chirped periodically. It was a fresh March morning but nice enough to sit by the French doors where they had the warmth of the fireplace. This was the first morning they didn't have to split company early to conceal their relationship from family and friends. They were free to relax.

"You're quiet this morning." Rick commented, pausing on his meal. He looked over at Kate. She was wearing jeans and sweater, her hair washed. She was glowing but she had been quiet since they had got out of bed to shower and prepare for their day.

She put down her fork, and looked him directly in the eyes. "I'm processing things."

He leaned in a little, "Good or bad processing? Have I done something to upset you?"

"No." She held up a finger telling him not to take that path, then had a sip of her coffee. She sighed and smiled, "Coffee is delicious."

"It is."

She put the cup down. "What we did last night, Rick. What I felt-" she waved her hand about indicating she didn't have words to describe what she was experiencing. "I cried having sex. Fucking sex brought me to tears. It's usually sad movies." She hugged her arms, looking vulnerable.

Rick fiddled with his fork he also stared at, while he thought about what he'd felt when they'd been together. Opposite him Kate was showing signs she was not comfortable with her reactions. He had strong feelings for Kate and although he hadn't expressed himself quite as spectacularly as she had, he wasn't going to deny himself of them. But he wasn't sure he was ready to tell her, and sensed she needed more time too, mainly to deal with her own emotions. A lot had happened between them with barely a word said. He decided to stay on the subject of their activities last night. He looked at Kate who seemed to be waiting for himself say something. He began to say, "Tell me if I'm wrong-"

"Castle." She interrupted softly, furrowing her brow. He stopped speaking. She continued. "I've been with enough sexual partners to know that I think I finally found you. I think we really made love." She searched his eyes for something, perhaps understanding, and continued, "We've been skating along the edge of it for a while, but last night it really happened. Perhaps we were relaxed, not sneaking about."

"Possibly." He agreed.

"It was extremely intense for me, Rick." She followed it up with a questioning expression, unsure of herself. "Do I make sense?"

The fork was picked up, then promptly set down. Impulsively, he reached out across the table to her hands and took them in his. Closing his eyes, so he could focus on what he wanted to say, he confirmed, "We did make love. Yes, it was very intense. It was also thrilling and I want do it again and again." He took a deep breath before he opened his eyes to her wide eyes, "And I will never forget what I experienced last night with you. Tops my nights on this earth so far."

"Was it the chair?" She asked, biting her bottom lip to hold back a smile.

He laughed, letting go of her hands. "If it was the chair, Honey, I will buy it for you."

"I dare you." She teased.

He looked down to pick up his fork, "Then I will."

"Does it scare you?"

"No, not at all." Rick replied. "It's a pink chair for fuck's sake. How scary can that be?" He smiled.

She glared at him, commenced to eat again.

He said, "No, it doesn't scare me. You?"

"I had that dream I lost you. To lose you even now would … Castle, I can't lose you right now, okay?"

"Not going anywhere," he replied and picked up her left hand that rested on the table top. He kissed her knuckles. He repeated his response, quieter and far more serious.

She stared at his hand holding hers, then lifted her eyes to his gaze. She whispered, "Don't stop."

"The dance we have going here?" He queried, his eyes smiling when she nodded, "Never, will I stop."

"But we can't be rushing this."

"We're cruising, okay?" He reassured mostly her, but also a part of himself. "Keep it simple, Kate. We're having fun."

"Will do. Are we still doing the wineries today?"

"Why not? My wine collection needs a stock up and your shelf has been raided a fair bit lately. I might be negotiating the sale price of one pink ladies chair, though there was no lady on it last night."

"You enjoyed every second of it."

"I certainly did."

They left the bed and breakfast late morning, after a walk to the lake, with plan for their day. Kate was behind the wheel of the sports car. In the passenger seat, Rick gave direction from his map application while he fiddled with stuff on the dashboard, played with the music system and generally familiarised himself with the new vehicle. He noted Beckett drove the car like it was meant to be driven. She hugged corners and worked the gears as though she'd been driving the vehicle for years. There was experience in her driving skills beyond regular driving. Riding motorbikes gave her an edge perhaps, but she knew how to handle the vehicle.

"It's very new." She commented at some stage and read the mileage clock. "You've hardly driven it out of the yard, Castle."

He grunted then said, "I pre-ordered it and had to wait for it to be manufactured. Received the car, met you a couple of weeks later. Been riding you." He kind of chuckled, amusing himself.

"Lucky boy."

"Car or you?" He glanced up from the manual, to the road ahead then out the back at the road once travelled, "Good thing you're a cop." He remarked.

"Why?"

"You're going really fast, Beckett." He watched trees flash by. "You do know we're not Smokie and the Bandit."

She laughed lifting her foot off the accelerator. "It does go fast."

"It's red." He fiddled with a dial then waited to see what happened, as though the manual provided false information.

"My seat is getting warm, Castle."

He grinned. "Should be." He turned it down. "Shall we retract the roof?"

"Pneumonia? You wanna freeze?"

"Yeah, it's a bit cold. Can't wait for the summer. Yesterday I was in a shirt, you a dress, but not today."

"Glad I packed my jeans?"

"Next gate on should be the first vineyard we're visiting. Hope they have coffee." Rick said, reading his phone screen.

As she approached the farm gate, Kate slowed the car down, to do an easy turn onto the gravel drive. She looked ahead to the long and rather uneven surface where the signs indicated the cellar was at the top of the hill. Rick looked up sensing her hesitation and saw a long straight driveway between rows of grape vines.

"Go on, Babe. Just go slowly, lead foot." He encouraged.

"I'm not that fast."

"I may be wrong but didn't we break the sound barrier about a mile back?"

"Don't the reviews say three point six seconds from zero to one hundred?"

"And you proved it." He grinned and put his hand on her thigh. "Good girl." He gave her pat.

"Castle."

"Mmm?" He responded rubbing her inner thigh, "You charge the camera?"

"Yes. I took lots of photos last night."

"Good sunset." Rick commented, then said, "This establishment should have few wines that I'll have crated home."

His phone beeped. He picked it up and checked the message. "Holy shit."

"What?"

"The new novel is released tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yes. My agent confirmed its been distributed to the stores. She has locked in our flights and hotel bookings for LA next week."

"We knew that." She replied, "The 'holy shit part' is me going away with you, Mr Big Time Writer, for what five days?"

"We'll be busy. You will have time to go shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, that activity women like. He looked at her. Do you like shopping? You haven't dragged me out shopping yet."

She nodded. I like shopping for clothes and shoes. Hate grocery shopping."

"I know that. Your fridge is a waste of space at your place."

"You use it now."

He smiled. "Yes, true. She has emailed me the itinerary and wants to know whether she can name you as my partner to a couple of the swing dings I'm invited to."

"Can you say no?"

"Kate, they will have our names on the tables"

"You plus one. Put me down as plus one, please. We have to keep this quiet. Your agent already knows I'm coming with you." She slowly drove up to the car parking outside the shabby cellar and chose one between two expensive vehicles to ensure the Ferrari was safe. "This book you're writing about, with me as your muse."

"Mmm?"

"Have you started it?" She put the car in park then looked about them.

"Kind of." He pulled face then answered, "Well, yes." He closed the map application on his phone.

"May I read it?"

"Not yet." He passed Kate her wallet, camera and phone, "Not till I sort her out in my head and put her properly on paper." He opened the car door. "You can read it when I'm ready."

"Thank you."

"Let's go taste wine, Baby girl."

She held his hand for the walk to the cellar. Inside were two other couples in their mid fifties. "You're tasting." She said. She was designated driver for the day. The tasting room was bright with natural light. The room was quaint with small tables and chairs inside. She stood by the window facing the horses.

Rick snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder. "We'll do the tasting when these folks are finished."

"Ok. Let's go see the horses huh?" She found his hand.

"Sure." He followed her out of French doors to a grassy area. They stopped at a wooden garden bench. The property was quite pretty, styled with a typical country look, with bits of old machinery and rusted garden seats scatter about the place. There was a place to dine outside the cellar and just beyond that was paddock with a couple of horses grazing. Kate retrieved her camera from its bag and turned it on. She looked to where Castle stood, his back to her, watching a tractor down in the vines.

"Castle?" She called.

He looked over his shoulder. Kate snapped her camera. In that instant, her camera caught the look in Rick's eyes as he turned to see her. In that instant she understood she was in love with the man who had written the novels she and her mother had shared. They had stood in line to get his autograph on a book not long before her mother had died.

She lowered the camera when she read his expression, and then closed the space between them.

"Rick." She said, remaining still when he swept strands of hair from her face.

"Kate."

"I want us to be exclusive. I can't bear the thought of you being with another woman."

"I'm alright with that." He replied, "Let's go feed the horses. There's a sign inside that says the bucket over there is full of feed for the horses."

A smile spread over her face. "Yes. I love horses." She took his hand and walked with him to the fence line. The moment they reached into the bucket that contained apples and carrots the horses' heads lifted and looked in their direction. The smaller of the two, a grey pony, released a neigh and headed off at a trot to them. The second horse, dark brown in colour, trotted after his paddock companion. The two stopped at the fence, excited and the pony shot an angry bite toward the horse.

"Hey." Rick said, "There's enough here for both of you." He passed Kate a couple of apples.

"Aren't they beautiful." She said.

"Yes. Do you know how to feed them?"

"No. How?"

Hold your palm out flat and put the apple on your palm. He will bite through the middle and hopefully leave the bottom half on your hand. Try it."

Kate held the apple on her right hand and held it over the fence. The brown horse calmly took the apple between his teeth and pinched it. The apple snapped in half and the horse commenced to munch, drawling apple juice and saliva over her hand. Rick fed the grey pony carrots.

"He's a bit of a pig this fellow." Rick commented.

"Look at his belly," she said pointing at the rounded belly covered in winter muddy coat. She then timidly held her hand still while the horse took the other half of the apple.

"This is so cool." She said, handing over the second apple.

Alone that evening, Kate unpacked the overnight bag and placed four bottles of wine into her wine rack. Rick had ordered more and was going to bring some over when they arrived. She sat at her desktop apple computer and downloaded the photographs she had taken during the past two days. The computer said she had 237 to transfer. She had been playing with her camera a lot during their break out of the city. She had photos of trees, the vines, buildings, of them, the horses they fed and general photos of the lake side region. It had been a long time since she had been able to play with a camera. She hovered over a photograph of Rick sitting on the park bench by the fire pit. She had wandered off while he'd spoken to his daughter. Alone for a short time, she was able to think about what she was feeling about Rick. Those feelings caused her to pick up the photograph of her mother.

She opened another folder, the contents of which held another time. She was in a room of a Tribeca apartment, her hair long, dark and straight. Her arms were around the head of another man hugging him. That man was smiling, holding her with one arm, a beer in the other. She was happy. He was grinning. They had been happy. She flicked back to a photograph of herself, her hair was short and dark. Her head was pressed against the chest of a man she had her arms around. She was smiling at the camera and he had reached out and snapped the photo if them. She looked a lot happier in the more recent photograph.

She closed the second photo but saved the photo of Rick and herself as her background picture. She loved the picture. Her eyes caught on the trinket gifted to her during their trip: a paper weight with a local flower from the lake district forever preserved within the glass. With a permanent marker, Rick had written, _Always, Rick Castle_ just to be a smart ass. He'd told her it was a joke and to rub it off, but she wanted to keep it as he'd given it.


	19. Chapter 19

_I've noticed the FF software takes away the breaks I leave between scenes, so I have gone through this chapter to ensure the spaces are back in the story. A few people said the story jumped, was hard to follow - my breaks were taken away._

 _Thanks for the review. This is a little filler that leads us in to S01E04. Enjoy._

 **Chapter 19**

Season 1 Ep 4 – Hell Hath no fury

Kate's morning began differently to the usual alarm bringing her from sleep. Firstly, it started off way too early. Consciousness gradually arrived with the build up of another intense dream.

The ultimate arousal from sleep was her body climaxing, her raspy cry of _Oh my God,_ _Castle,_ breaking the silence of the dark apartment. Her hips gave a few final powerful bucks as the strong climax she had happening between her legs subsided, leaving her skin sweaty, her muscles quivering and lungs panting for enough oxygen from when she'd held her breath to come.

Aware of what happened, a sweet smile spread over her face. It'd been a damn long time since she'd had a sex dream and this one had been a doozy. A splendid sex dream. Just the sort she loved. The new leading role had done a terrific job.

Inquisitive, hungering for more, she slipped her fingers between her folds of sensitive flesh, slicked with wetness. She glided her finger around her swollen clit, creating more pelvic thrusts. Eyes opened the room was still dark. It was very early.

It was a certainty that dreaming about fucking Rick was far better than killing him off. She released a moan of pleasure and followed it with a groan of displeasure, because she remained horny and wet and he wasn't here to share it. He wasn't there to fill her. For several seconds she contemplated summoning him over, but he needed to be home to get Alexis off to school.

Time to pretend. She closed her eyes, willing herself back into the dream state, sleepy enough to fantasize a little longer. They had been making love when she was rudely awakened by a climax. She had no idea where they were doing it, but what she had been doing was as vivid and intimate as it would have been in real life.

Where? The pink chair. She wanted it to be back on the chair, but in this dream, she had been pressed against a wall, a soft wall. Soft wall? The bloody mattress. That's right. She was flat on her back, legs waving about in the air. Rick was covering her and using his size and strength to keep her subdued. She liked that. Being restrained. Really turned her on with him doing it. She would introduce handcuffs. Police handcuffs. She had a fluffy pair somewhere. In a box on her wardrobe or perhaps in her night stand. Rick would have found them by now.

On the mattress, on her back. He had her arms over her head, pressed to the mattress. Yep, pinned at her wrists. Her legs. About him. Gripping him.

Totally caught up in the dream again, her knees fell apart and her thighs lifted as her fingers plunged inside her body. In her imagination, Rick was there and he fucked her hard and fast. Strong. Thrusting deep inside. It was painful. Good painful. The painful between _Don't. Stop_. And _don't stop_. It wasn't long before her feet planted on the bed and she pushed her hips off the mattress as she came again. It was harder and longer than the first time. She pushed off the blankets, panting to get her breath back.

"When did I get so fucking provocative and horny?" She asked herself, examining her wet fingers. "Naughty, Kate." She scowled then laughed girlishly, rolling to her side and burying her face in the pillow. She hadn't felt so happy since… she had no idea. Her body felt great. She felt sexy.

Not only was she having a wonderful secret affair with the famous writer she was having erotic fantasies about him. Several minutes passed with her thinking about their little relationship. There were feelings quite new to her and although it was exhilarating, it was equally frightening. Had she finally met the man she would be happy to commit the rest of her life to?

Kate sat up. She cancelled the alarm on her phone and once the light headedness subsided, she got up to shower and prepare for work. She left the apartment for work half an hour later, a spring in her step. She was a happy girl. A couple of days away with the man of her dreams, and next week they were travelling to LA together for five days away. She couldn't wait to be in a place with him again where they didn't need to hide so much and act as though she despised his presence.

Being up earlier than usual, she arrived at the 12th before the night shift was packing up to clock off. A few the detectives ribbed her about it, offering to handover their caseloads. She rolled with the stirring as she shrugged out of her coat and waved them farewell. They would go for breakfast somewhere close by then head for their respective beds. She'd done her fair share of night shifts and it was something no one ever really got accustomed to. Like working on a Sunday when friends were wanting to catch up. It sucked.

More or less, alone in the bullpen, with a cup of the shitty coffee from the breakroom nursed between her fingers, she tried to read the Ledger on the desktop monitor but she found herself reading the same lines over and over.

Option B activity, was a pile of paperwork to her right side on the desk but right now she couldn't be fucked even looking at it. Paperwork was boring, even if it was important for the legal battles the lawyers would have over evidence and reports. It was a major part of her job and she needed to get on top of it. This morning paperwork wasn't a priority for Kate. There was far more going on in her head than she could cope with at this time of the morning, any time of the day.

The ache that remained in her groin long since she'd climaxed was both intoxicating and frustrating. Hearing his voice on the phone earlier, had fueled the fire in her belly to have him. Just the thought of Rick poised outside of her, just before he flashed his bright keen eyes to hers, then entered her, filling her, involuntarily flexed her muscles. She crossed her legs, drawing in a shuddery breath.

He would arrive later, after the peak hour rush was over, with the coffee. By then she anticipated she would be hungering for him more. She stared into the middle distance, contemplating their options. Perhaps they could rent a hotel room for the night. Use it over lunch, stay there awhile tonight and hook up-

"Beckett, what you doing here so early?" Montgomery greeted as he walked from the elevator.

"Couldn't sleep, Sir. Morning." She smiled up at him as he turned about, stepping backward. He paused, his brow furrowing, "What's going on, Kate? You have a look on your face like the cat who caught the bird."

"Nothing, Captain."

"Nothing huh?" He nodded with a smirk, "You just keep doing nothing then. It suits you, Detective."

Kate stared after him touching her face to see if she could feel what he was seeing. The Captain continued to his office, closing the door behind him. She knew he would spend about the next hour in there reading the papers and going through his emails.

Forgetting the Captain, she glanced down at her phone swiping it open so she could see the photos of herself and Rick. A quick visual scan of the bullpen ensured no one was interested in what she was up to or close enough to see. A couple of night shift staff were still doing hand over of matters to the day team of fresh murder. They were too far away to pay her any attention, and Montgomery was absorbed in his laptop. Kate's team didn't have a murder to work on, so until a homicide took place, they would be doing paperwork, cold cases and coffee breaks, most of the latter. She huddled closer to her phone a soft smile appearing when she swiped to a picture of Rick lying in bed looking up at her. He'd been inside her. His hair was messed, his cheeks pink. smiling. So handsome.

Interrupted by an incoming text, she opened the app to read it. Rick. He was ordering coffees and a bear claw. She replied with a _C u soon_ and returned to the collection of photos losing track of time.

At the sound of Ryan's voice coming from the stairs, Kate closed her private phone and slipped it to the side of her keyboard. She opened the top file and woke the computer monitor up, tapping in the login password. Ryan was talking football with Esposito.

"Beckett's here."

Kate smirked. It was Rick.

"She's always here early." Esposito replied. "Did you think of buying us a coffee, Castle?"

"Two hands, two coffees. But don't worry fella's. I'm gonna fix that up."

Kate sat back in her chair stretching as they approached, "You boys finally dragged your sorry asses out of bed?"

"We were at the gym, what were you doin?" Ryan replied.

"Never you mind." She answered, her eyes stealing a glance of Rick as he placed two take away coffees and a paper bag on the edge of the desk. She momentarily looked at that then to Rick's blue eyes as he sat in his chair.

"No murders, Castle, what are you doing here?"

"Dropped Alexis at school. Thought I would come visit. Been a few days." With his back to the boys, he raised his eye brow at Kate and his eyes lingered between her lips and breasts. He finally connected his gaze to her eyes. Kate's cheek caught fire, she forgot to breathe. Flashes of his intensely blue eyes, his flushed cheeks, rosy lips and his hot breaths on her face as he fucked her, created an electrical storm within her. The ache in the pit of her being became stronger. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, fidgeted. And then his hand pushed the cup towards her. What his fingers, magic fingers, could do to her body.

"Beckett?"

Kate's eyes shot to Rick's. She knew they were wide and dilated as he was out of focus. He leaned over the desk, in a little closer with a smirk. She opened her mouth but found nothing to say.

He quietly asked, "Enjoying yourself there?"

"Oh shit." Kate hissed, blinked and sat up. She took the cup and tipped it to her lips.

Rick sat back in his chair, a smug expression all over his face. He then whispered, "Me too." His eyes returned to her chest.

There was a flash of sweetness in her expression as she looked at Rick, a picture of his head buried between her legs, then she pictured the pain in the ass following her about while she worked, and her expression hardened, her voice deepened. "You don't do paperwork, Castle, what's the occasion?"

Rick shrugged his shoulders, "Odds are in my favour. There's bound to be a murder, sooner, rather than later. Just a matter of time." He replied watching her watch his hands no matter where he moved them.

"No matter what, its paperwork time." She replied, then drank more coffee, aware her mouth was salivating for the man beside her. She squirmed on her chair, wished the urge to have his cock inside her would subside and let her concentrate on work rather than sex. Perhaps there was an empty office, a cleaner's cupboard they could jump into for a quickie. She could fake being unwell so she could go home – no that was dishonest and would come back to bite her on the ass.

 _Bite on the ass._ Her temperature went up as the thought of Rick biting her ass again.

Sex. Oh God the sex. Having sex with Rick was the best sex she'd ever had. They fitted physically, they connected mentally.

His hand surrounded his coffee cup. All Kate's attention went to that cup wishing it was her breast, either one.

 _Her palms were pressed flat on the side of the Ferrari, her limbs bearing the thrusts of his weight against her body. The air was cool on her skin but it aided to keep her temperature down. His hands firmly held her hip bones as he slid in out. In and out. She'd never known outdoor sex could be so much fun._

Kate moistened her lips. She looked at Rick who was still smug. She glanced to where the boys were. They were making a fresh pot of coffee in the breakout room.

"Beckett?" Rick ensured they were in the clear to talk intimately for a few moments.

"Mm?"

"You're a dead give away, Honey."

"What? No." She waved in front of her face, "Poker face."

He laughed, "No poker face."

She glanced between him and the boys then hissed out, "I dreamed about you this morning."

Rick gave a look of horror, "And how did you kill me this time?"

She smiled, then bit her lip.

Rick sat up with the realization of what she was referring to, "Oh, that sort of dream. Good girl." He smiled, "I'm proud of you. Did you get the happy ending?"

"It's what woke me up." She confirmed.

"Wish I had been there."

"Still woke crying your name." She smirked, then rolled her eyes upwards pretending she was coming.

Rick cleared his throat, adjusted his jeans and position on the chair, "Jesus fucking Christ," he muttered.

"I can't stop thinking about us, being together." She whispered.

"They're coming." Rick whispered back seeing the boys leave the break out.

Immediately Kate returned to her coffee and work, her expression strictly business.

Rick amused himself on his phone.

Kate received another text a few minutes later. She picked up her phone and saw it was from Rick. When she looked at him he kept his eyes on the phone. She casually read the text.

 _Was it me that had you come in your dream?_

"Yes." She said and put the phone down. Rick released a groan.

Her phoned beeped. She picked it up.

 _What were we doing?_

She tapped back,

 _Like when we made love in the shower at the B &B yesterday b4 breakfast._

His phoned beeped.

"Alexis?" Kate asked.

"No. My date yesterday." He replied without taking his eyes from the phone screen.

"You had a date yesterday?" She asked in surprise.

"Just because you don't date, Beckett, doesn't mean normal people don't." He knocked out a text message.

"I date."

"When was the last date you had?"

"That's personal, Castle. I'm not a page 6 dater."

"Me neither," he hit send then looked at her, eyes wide and eyebrows up. "It's been awhile huh?" He asked, then rose from his chair. "Little boys room." He muttered as he walked off.

Kate's phone beeped. She once again picked it up and opened it. From Rick, of course.

 _I like the sounds you make when I am inside of you. Your moans drive me crazy. With every thrust I get turned on._

Kate read it a few times.

Foot falls behind caused Kate to momentarily lower the phone screen down and she felt her cheeks heat up.

Not two minutes later Kate was entering treacherous waters. Her heart rate was higher than it should have been and anxiety was on the incline over the feelings she admitted only to herself that she felt for Rick.

"Oh my god, this is quite possibly the worst coffee I've ever tasted. It's actually kind of fascinating it tastes like a.. mmhm, it tastes like a monkey peed in battery acid. Try some?" Rick held the coffee mug towards his partner.

Kate paused from doing her paperwork, and looked at him clearly agitated, "Don't you have a book coming out today or something?"

"Yeah so?"

"Yeah so, you are watching me do paperwork, it's creepy. Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She hissed.

"I like it here." He replied.

She stared at him a moment, then exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! I get it. You're hiding. Your book is coming out today and you are hiding."

"No, hiding would be building a fortress out of my comforter and then downing a fifth of scotch but apparently that's considered unhealthy."

"I thought you don't care what people think."

"I don't, much." He affirmed lacking conviction.

Beckett's phone rang and she scooped it up. "Beckett." She greeted, listened, "Yeah, right, on my way."

Rick put his coffee down on the desk, glad to get rid of it. "Dead body?" He saw her nod as she grabbed her keys, badge and jacket, "Yes!" He jumped up and hurried after Beckett who was pacing to the elevator.

It was a short trip to the crime scene but long enough for Beckett and Castle to learn something new about each other. On the passenger seat, Rick kept checking his emails and texts while Kate drove.

He was distracted by his book release.

She was distracted by them.

With his phone in his pocket, deciding he was better to not know for a while, Rick focused on Kate who had been busy most of the morning biting her bottom lip or the nails of her right hand. The anxiety level was higher than normal and he couldn't quite pinpoint the cause. When he had dropped her at home last night she had been affectionate and hungered. Hell, they'd had sex on the side of the road on the way home. Today she had been fine when he'd arrived at the Precinct, but she had become quite stand offish and jittery.

And then she jumped in ahead of him before he had the opportunity to ask what was wrong.

"Are you worried about your book, Castle?"

"Yes, no. Maybe. Its published and released. Makes me a bit of everything." He replied, then looked over at Kate who was mostly focused on driving. "What are you prickly about just before, Beckett?"

"Prickly?"

"It's like you don't want me near you today after two days of being in each other's pockets. I've never had such a fun time with a woman, but today you're pulling away."

Kate bit the lip and kept her eyes to the road ahead.

"Hey?" He encouraged with a hand to her shoulder, "Yes, I'm scared about what people will think of my writing."

"But you're a great writer." She stressed.

"I'm still the guy who writes for a living." He humbly said. He looked out the front to see where they were. "Before we get there, Katie, tell me what is worrying you. Its concerning me and I wanna fix it." He then waited out the two blocks she stewed on his question and he ignored his phone that was vibrating in his pocket.

Traffic lights turned red at a point a driver would press on the metal or hit the brakes. Kate braked hard to stop before the line. When the vehicle came to a sudden and a bit of a bouncy state of being stationary, her focus shifted to Rick's question. She was sure she felt his gaze boring into the side of her face. She breathed in then spilled, "It's what I'm feeling, is scaring me."

"About us? Scaring you enough to push me away?"

She nodded and looked to him. "You're a big time writer, and I'm a nobody, and I have all these feelings waking up inside me about you and its terrifying."

"Don't push me away. We can do time apart if that's what you want."

"I don't want that." She quickly replied.

Rick frowned. "You're pushing me away."

"I don't want to lose you…. I want to continue this, but if the Precinct finds out, then we are not able to work together."

"Just continue on with the way you treat me in public and we'll be fine. Green light Kate." He pointed at the front. Kate drove on.

"I'm scared of us, Rick. I'm scared of how I'm feeling, how I want you all the time."

"Want me?"

Kate released a girlish squeak, then laughed, "I want you touching me, being inside me." She confessed then bit her lip so hard Rick thought she was going to make herself bleed. She pulled into a car space, directed by a uniform. She killed the engine.

"Stay here a second Kate." He requested and she immediately put her hands to her lap and looked at him. He quietly reached out and took her hand in his.

"Kate, you are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. I want you, I think about you constantly. But there is a part of me that is scared this intimate bubble is going to burst."

Kate nodded, "I'm terrified of the intimacy and simultaneously, I'm basking in the glory of falling in love."

Rick's eyes widened, but he kept his gaze on Kate's large hazel eyes. The poor woman was afraid she had just over confessed. "Enjoy it Kate, but don't be scared. It will drive us apart."

"Okay, but it still doesn't change the fact I'm scared."

"I'm scared too, Honey, but together we can achieve anything."

Kate squeezed his hand, "Yesterday." She smiled thinking about their two days away.

Rick chuckled, "Best holiday ever."

"Agreed."

"Shower, our last romp on the pink chair."

"Best chair ever." She said with a giggle. "Remember, we were on a country road?"

"Yes. You pulled off into a secluded area."

"You were pleasantly tipsy on wine and port."

"I'd had a few, and you were as horny as hell." Rick said, "And I had my hand buried…"

Kate laughed. "We did it against your car out in the open. So much fun."

"We certainly had fun with her." He agreed and moistened his lips, "Don't be scared. We will be okay."


	20. Chapter 20

_I'm going on the assumption here that most of you know the episodes reasonably well, because I am trying to cut out the scripts more so I can write around them without including them as much. Enjoy …. And thank you so much for those who make the effort to send a review. They make my day._

 **Chapter 20**

The crime scene was inside an apartment building in a reasonable suburb. They weren't in a seedy motel, stepping over druggies or sending nosy residents back inside their rooms. The building wasn't bad at all, Rick thought as he followed Kate along the hallway to an open doorway where a uniform cop smiled at Beckett but pointed towards Castle.

"This the guy?" The uniformed policeman asked Beckett.

"You heard, huh?" She asked back.

The cop replied, "Oh, everyone's heard." He looked at Castle with a good deal of excitement. "You really basing your next character on Detective Beckett?"

"Every artist needs a muse." Castle replied with a smile and continued behind Beckett, wondering how she was going to react. He barely had time to think about it when Beckett did a sudden one eighty turn, and road blocked him shoving a hand to his chest. He stopped, gazing down at her large hazel eyes, and fingers scorching his chest. She looked up at him very sweetly. She was so much smaller than he always imagined but still as terrifying when she was to the point. He personally thought this part of her was adorable, but it was preferable her strong mindedness be directed to a third party.

Through a tight jaw she quietly threatened, "Call me your muse again and I will break both your legs, 'kay?" She raised an eyebrow.

Castle held the gaze, pretending to be unaffected by her verbal onslaught, "Okay."

With that, the cute brunette road block removed her hand, turned on her heels and continued with a purposeful stride into the living room where the murder scene was located. Rick smirked, totally in love with that defiant and strong willed side of his muse. What she had just done, had unintentionally provided him with additional stuffing to the character he was working on.

The next road block was the partnership of Esposito and Ryan who were bumping shoulders, Ryan holding his usual pen and pocket sized note book.

Esposito greeted, "Detective Beckett."

Kate gave him a nod and, then indicated for him to brief them on what information they had with the dead guy. They stared down at the deceased who was laid out on a rug.

Esposito pointed in the general direction of a young couple, "Jack Lifford and Hall Mars. While moving in to this place, they see a rolled-up rug sticking out of a dumpster. They figure it's their lucky day. They bring it home, only to find there's a prize inside."

Ryan commented, "Dead guy in a rug, naturally we thought of you." He smirked.

"Yeah." Espo agreed with a smile.

Everyone crouched down circling the body as Dr Lanie Parish took over the update and said mostly to Beckett, "Thirty-eight calibre at close range, killed him instantly."

Rick looked up at the doctor in time to catch her glancing over the detective and himself, the detectives tag along writer as most of the team referred to him. There was a split second when Rick read her expression, that the doctor was of the opinion there something going on between him and Beckett. The chemistry was obvious and Rick knew that Kate frequently whined to Lanie about him _hanging around_. In fact they laughed about the conversations Kate created to keep those orbiting them from catching on. They had to make a joke of it, because they both found it hard to lie to their friends, especially Kate who believed they had too much to lose by being honest.

"You got an ID, Espo?" Kate asked.

"No. Pockets were empty, no wallet, no apartment keys, no jewelry."

"We figure a robbery gone wrong." Ryan said.

Simultaneously Castle and Beckett replied, "This wasn't a robbery." They glanced at each other, both amused by their own ability to synchronize. Then everyone rose to a stand. It was time to move on.

Castle continued, "I rob someone, I'm not going to stick around to wrap them up and throw them away."

Beckett said "Blood spatter indicates he was standing near the rug when he got shot. Where did they find this?"

"East third about two blocks away." Ryan answered.

Quietly, Rick pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of the rug. He knew someone who might be able to help them identify where it came from.

"All right, let's get CSU on the rug, fibers, blood, identifying marks. And let's get a team down to the dumpster to see if they can dig anything else out. Lanie, you do what you can about an ID."

"Got it." Lanie replied.

"Don't bother. I know who he is." Rick said staring down upon the deed man's face.

"How?" Lanie asked.

"He's a politician. His mugshot is all over the place."

"Do you notice everything?" Kate asked.

"Most things, yes." He answered then added, "Like Lanie wants to talk with you privately." He waved a hand at the doctor, "I'll wait at the car. Seen enough here. "

He started out of the living room, noticing Lanie and Kate staring dumbfounded at each other.

It was Lanie who moved first grabbing Kate by her forearm. She urged her to a quiet corner and they huddled together.

"What is it Lanie?" Kate asked curious as to why the doctor would want to speak privately at a murder scene. They hadn't seen each other in quite a few days and were due for a catch up.

"Is there something going on with you two?" The doctor asked.

Kate's brow furrowed and she pointed towards the entrance where Rick had exited, "Me and Castle?"

"No. You and Espo." Lanie gave Kate a look that would freeze hot water instantly.

Kate glared at Lanie, a knot building in her gut because she was out rightly lying to her best friend. It also bothered Kate that she was using this moment to corner her about Castle. To ensure the secrecy of their relationship, she internally took ownership of it, and replied so no one else would hear, "Nothing has changed between us." She looked Lanie directly in her large brown eyes. Right now, Kate didn't want her work situation threatened because colleagues knew Rick and she were fucking like rabbits. It was too much of a good thing to lose. Kate wanted to keep what she had with Rick to herself for sometime to come. It'd been forever since she'd felt as she did about a man.

"Nothing?" Lanie pressed.

Kate sighed, "I don't have time for this, Lanie. Can we catch up for drinks later in the week? Even tonight?"

"Sure. It's time we did. I'll get back to our friend over here. I'll call you about it." Lanie said.

Kate nodded as she stepped back and waved her friend good bye. She was certain Lanie was pissed off with her but there was nothing Kate could do to ease her friend's concerns. She found Rick waiting by the foyer as the elevator arrived. Perfect timing. He held the door open but stepped in ahead of her while she hurried to catch up.

Once the doors were closed, Rick calmly asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She glanced to him but avoided his gaze.

"Kate?"

"I'm okay Rick. Just Lanie."

"Babe?"

"I hate the lying. I'll will catch up with Lanie for dinner, perhaps tonight."

"Maybe we should let people know we're having a crack at being together." He suggested.

"Castle." She said and stepped in closed to him, so close he grew a little jittery. "I don't want it out in public yet that we are fucking crazy about each other." With large sexy eyes she peered up to his blue eyes, and bit her bottom lip.

He cleared his throat, "I agree."

Eyes to his mouth, she continued, "It was very new, and call me selfish, but I want it for me." She leaned in and gave a press to his lips, gave a moan, "Yeah. I really like this." She stepped back, but maintained eye contact, almost giggled because he was almost a blubbering mess. She understood she was falling rapidly in love with this man but in the back of her mind she also knew he'd been married twice and had a string of ex-girlfriends, most of whom he still got along with. She'd noticed he didn't really have enemies. He also didn't have a best friend, well said his best mate was Alexis.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Do you reckon we could find a room for lunch? I really would like to make love with you right now." He checked his clothing to ensure his partial erection wasn't obvious. "Kate, you really have to stop seducing me in public."

As the elevator doors opened at ground level, Kate wrapped her coat back up and stepped out. "What Ricky, can't handle it?"

"It's you I can't handle."

She laughed and walked ahead of him to the car.

On their way back to the Precinct, when Kate had braked the car at a red light Rick said, "The guy in the rug, Beckett."

"What about him?"

"His name is Jeff Horn."

"How do you know?"

He pointed at the bus stop bench seat across the road. On the back of the seat was a smiling photo of the man who had been wrapped in a rug. He looked like a real estate agent, but in this case a politician.

She focused on the park bench between cars passing in front of it. As the lights changed and the traffic cleared she got a good look. "My God. You were right." She laughed.

"Told you." He humbly replied. "He's running for re-election."

"We need to suppress his identity until we talk to his family. We'll head back to the Precinct to find his family before the press finds out. Wait till we tell the Captain." She said as she pressed on the accelerator now she had a green light.

"He'll love hearing we have a public figure at the morgue." Rick replied, "He enjoys addressing the media like a hole in the head."

Castle and Beckett said farewell to the widow, Mrs Horn, then let themselves out of the impressive home.

After he closed the front door, Rick followed Kate down the path to the front gate, about a dozen steps all up. "They hardly saw each other, Beckett. He was fundraising and working back late at the office."

"I don't believe he always worked that late, do you?"

"Well, during election periods yeah maybe. If he really did have that obligation to get the people's work done. Even while running for office."

"Okay, accepted, because my Dad works late a lot, but the nights when Jeff Horn didn't come home? Do you really believe he crashed on the office couch instead of going home?"

"No, I don't. But his wife said he seemed happy. And we've left her inside the house a widow who now has to figure out how she is going to tell their daughters of the death, before the media snags it and runs with the news."

Kate got in the car, closed the door. Once Rick was in she started the engine and drove off towards the Precinct.

"You okay?" Castle inquired a few blocks on.

"Yeah, why?" She glanced from the road to him. "You keep asking me that today."

"Well, it can't be easy breaking that kind of news." He said sincerely.

"Yeah well, thanks for not making it a joke."

"Hey. I'm a wiseass, not a jackass."

"I didn't know there was a difference."

Rick decided to ignore her response, "So. What's your next move? Last person to see him alive? Establish a timeline? Grab a donut? More really bad coffee?"

"Rick, this, um, female detective of yours you've started writing-" She gave him a concerned look.

"Mm?"

"Exactly how much will she be based on me?" She cautiously asked.

"Well, she's not too bright... and kind of slutty." He replied like a smart ass.

"Right, so was that wiseass or jackass?"

"Actually, that was jackass."

"Hmm."

"No, honestly, you are not going to have anything to be embarrassed about. She's gonna be… She's gonna be really smart, very savvy, haunting good looks, really good at her job… and kinda slutty."

"Castle." She warned.

His cell phone began to ring, "I should really get that." He took the call. "Hello?"

"Oh sweetheart." His mother said urgently.

"Mother, slow down, what's wrong?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Why wouldn't I be all right?"

"No one is buying your book."

"What are you talking about?" He stared ahead wondering whether it was time to have his mother assessed.

"I am standing in the middle of the book store and no one is buying your book."

"Oh okay, what are you doing in a bookstore?" She didn't read anything beyond tabloid magazines so surely her entry into a bookstore was an error on her part.

"I was hungry, I came in for a pastry. And there they were, all your books, just sitting there."

"Well, they only just went on sale two hours ago, what did you expect-a line out the door?"

"There was one for the last Harry Potter."

Rick rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, "Yes well ah… Derrick Storm is not Harry Potter." He said glancing at Kate who was inquisitive as to her who he was talking with.

"Clearly."

"No one's bought one?" He asked, feel a little insecure.

"Hang on kiddo, hang on."

Rick waited, hearing nothing other than his mother's breathing.

"Ahhh… no."

"Okay mother I gotta go." He hung up and lowered his hand to his lap, frowning with disappointment.

"You Okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah." He glumly said. "My mother likes to be the cloudy day."

"Don't worry Ricky, your novel will sell. I might even buy a copy." She teased and patted his thigh. "So long as you read to me in bed."

He chuckled, "I'll read to you in bed anytime and there's no need to buy a copy. I have a special one for you. The last manuscript and the first copy of the press."

"Really?"

"Of course. I know you die hard fans love the special stuff."

"I will review it for you so long as its read by you to me in bed, with you naked." She cooed.

"Hope so. We writers really like feedback. I might get immediate feedback."

She laughed, "I'll provide immediate feedback."

"When I post stuff on Fanfiction, should see how obsessive I get on waiting for reviews."

Kate's mouth fell open. "You write fanfiction?"

"Of course. We all do. Can't help ourselves."

"What about?"

He smirked, "It wouldn't be anonymous if I told you." He sighed. "Forget I mentioned it. I've never told anyone I write on fanfiction."

"No. No way. Not forgetting that, Castle."

"Forget it, Beckett."

"I want to know what you write about, Rick."

"Nope." He said, "Lips are sealed."

"I will get it out of you." She threatened.

"No. You won't."

"Will. I confess. I read fanfiction."

"Yeah sure. There's no way the Kate Beckett I know, reads fanfiction."

She laughed, "Seriously."

"Do you have a pen name?" Rick asked.

"No. Read as a guest."

"Arrr. Are you one of those anonymous stalkers that reads the entire story but can help sending nasty comments to the writer?"

"No." She strongly objected.

"With an exclamation mark No?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Your response was intense. If you had written it, would you have tacked on an exclamation mark?"

"No. I only use them in extreme situations." Kate replied, "Like if I was to send you a text and it carried an exclamation mark, its serious."

"Duly noted." He replied, "What we having for lunch? I'm starving."

"Cheeseburgers?" Kate asked.

"Perfect."

"What's your penname?" She asked.

"Not saying." He smiled.

Kate grumbled out her frustration. Rick laughed.

At the Precinct a couple of hours into the afternoon, the boys were crowded around Ryan's computer monitor, apparently doing research. Beckett had been gone for a while, not that they had noticed her absence.

"Damn, those are some serious five-star Class B misdemeanours." Esposito said.

"Dude, between you and me, did you ever pay for it?" Ryan asked Castle.

"Are you counting my marriages?" Castle inquired, his eyes not leaving the monitor, "Wait, wait stop. That's the girl in the photos."

"Look at her, if I had your money..." Ryan trailed off when he caught Beckett approaching.

"This isn't phone sex, Ryan, you don't just pay for the two minutes you use." Beckett said as she circled the men paying particular attention to where Castle's eyes were.

"Ha ha." Ryan muttered.

"The 800 number is registered to a PO box from out of State. We are going to have to get cyber to track down the IP to see where it's hosted." Beckett informed the group.

"Well, what if the IP is out of State too?" Castle asked.

"We just co-ordinate with local PDs." Espo answered.

"If they are willing to co-operate."

"Sites like these are designed to evade authorities, Ryan. We'll get there. Just take us some time."

"Or you could just do it the easy way." Rick replied dialing out on his cell phone to VIP liaisons.

"Castle what are you doing?" Beckett asked.

He stood up, "Hi, my name's Richard. I'm a very generous man looking to arrange a very special date with Tiffany. Just give me a call on my phone which is 347-555-0179 thank you." He hurried away with Beckett chasing him for his phone.

"Castle, you can't just call and arrange a date with a prostitute."

"Why not?"

"Because we're the police."

"No, no, no. You're the police. I'm just a lonely upscale gentleman looking for a date. Bet I find her first."

A guy came out of the elevator pushing a large box sitting on a trolley. He called out, "Is there a Rick Castle here?"

"Right here." Rick replied and looked for where the voice had come from. Guy in a cap and high visual clothing, stopped a few fee away and patted the top of the box.

"Where do you want it, boss?" The guy asked.

"Ah, straight through there." Ricked started on his way to the break room.

Beckett watched the two men, "Castle?"

"You are gonna love this, Beckett.". Castle called as he led the way.

"No, I'm pretty sure I won't." Standing her ground, Beckett folded her arms, watching.

"Guys, guys, guys. Just put it right over there, perfect." Rick said as the guys lifted the large and seemingly heavy box to the bench. "Lift with your knees, man! Stay here for one second, would you? Because you guys have been so wonderfully hospitable to me I just wanted to return the favour, and because your coffee is basically crap, I got you..." He waved his hand over the box. "-… an espresso machine! How cool is that?"

Kate repeatedly glanced behind her, and half pointed, "I think my phone's ringing."

"I don't know how to put this together." Rick said to the delivery guy, "That's part of the delivery, right?"

"Sure is, Man."

"Excellent. We are finally gonna have decent coffee guys." Rick said to Espo and Ryan, who cautiously watched one, while waiting for Beckett to call them back to work.

At the end of the day they had unraveled a fair bit of information about the late Councilor Horn and Rick was ready to pack it in. He also had a date with his daughter. He grabbed his coat as Kate looked up from her monitor.

"You leaving, Castle?"

"Mm. I am." He replied as he searched for the boys but they were no where to be seen and nobody else was paying them much attention. He leaned on his hands on the desk and looked down at her eyes. "Enjoy your catch up with Lanie."

"I will. Talk later?"

"Okay." He said, and pushed off the desk.

She smiled and waved him bye. She returned to work after he was swallowed up by the elevator, only to get interrupted by a text message from Rick, which said he would be at her place by the time she got home from her BFF date.

That evening, alone in her apartment Kate slowly and strategically applied make up. She had plenty of time until Lanie would be knocking off work. Unlike her daytime make up, when she went out Kate enjoyed playing with products. She was busy with eyeliner when Lanie's text arrived that she was going to be about 45 minutes before she would meet Kate at the bar where they had decided to order dinner.

The day had been busy with the Horn case. They'd finished up agreeing that although the millionaire and playboy Creason was a creep, he was also innocent. Rick's decorator come fuck friend had been playing in her mind since she'd been home, his cautionary comment about sleeping with business partners had circled in her conscious mind most of the day too. All jokes aside, he was probably right. It wasn't good to mix business with pleasure. She had dated a guy in a similar line of work and in the end his job and career, had broken their relationship. Jason Bollinger's investigation of Horn, run by the licensed PI, Bruce Kirby had found Councilman Horn had been sleeping with another woman, not his wife, but a hooker. Rick had called the hooker, and as Kate applied eyeliner to her right eye, she allowed herself to ponder over whether he'd been to a hooker. He certainly knew how to pleasure a woman. Someone in his life had shown him how to be a great lover. What he knew wasn't something one picked up watching porn.

She finished applying the eye liner to her left eye then inspected her work, leaning in to examine how straight she had her lines. She then touched up the beauty spot on her left cheek with a touch of brown liner.

Rick had said he really liked her beauty spot. She'd noticed he had a freckle in almost the same spot but it was lighter, less obvious. She picked up the lip stick. Tonight, she was wearing a light pink color. She checked herself in the full length mirror. She had kept it simple. A black dress with a denim jacket and boots. It was what lay beneath the dress that would have Rick go crazy.


	21. Chapter 21

_Thank you for the feed back. There's some great comments. Make me smile for hours. The pink chair is real and recently acquired by me. Found it in a second hand place. I often put key things I like or own in stories._

 **Chapter 21**

It was father daughter cook time and they were making salad to have with grilled lamb chops. Although the evening had been planned the day before, Rick was thankful for the distraction. His girlfriend was on her way out for dinner with her best friend and he had to admit he was a little concerned she might meet a guy, or rather, another man might crack on to her. Even though he knew she was totally devoted and committed to them, he couldn't help but feel moderately insecure. She was gorgeous and other men would see that. She'd also sent two photos of herself to his secret phone, one in her lingerie and the other in her dress, short, dangerously short dress.

"I don't get it, Dad." Alexis said interrupting his thoughts, as she sliced onions, her eyes protected by goggles. "If Creason didn't do it, then how does the rug fit in?"

"Killer probably heard about the feud between the two of them and tried to shift suspicion, which is stupid because without the rug it would just look like a mugging gone wrong." Rick replied.

"So, by trying to look smart they were actually being stupid?" She summed up with a smile looking at her father through the goggles.

Rick paused, "I think you just described the human condition."

"Speaking of the human condition, how's it going with Detective Beckett?" She casually asked.

Instantly Rick felt guilty for hiding his relationship with the brunette from his daughter, but he had to keep it quiet, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Dad, you are basing a character off her, and you always say you have to love your characters."

That caused Rick to pause and give that thought. "Well, yeah, she is a character." And now Alexis pointed that out he had to agree, she was right, well he was right. He did have to love his characters. He pictured Beckett with great fondness, then said, "But, ah, just research, nothing more." It didn't stop him from wishing he could share with his daughter that he'd met a woman who was making him so happy of late. He needed more time to be sure before he would let Alexis in.

"Yeah. I'm sure. You've been gone some nights." She hinted.

Rick stopped cutting, "You know I don't …"

"Bring women here nowadays. I know Dad. But maybe you can now I'm older."

"Thank you."

Martha approached the kitchen counter flapping a sheet of paper. She quickly inspected what they were doing then said, "Well, I've found out why your books aren't selling, listen to this review. His work has become so hackneyed, so cliché, that we wonder if Mr Castle has anything new to say. It appears the magic, if there ever was any, is long gone." She touched her son's shoulder, "Ahh darling I know, it's awful, it's awful I'm sorry, daggers to the heart."

Alexis peered at the piece of paper Martha held, "The Syracuse Times Reader. Really Gran?"

His mother continued, "Now don't you worry. I'm going to write them a piece of my mind, and who cares if they say the magic has gone? Harper Lee only wrote one book, you've written dozens. Of course, hers was literature, but still I…" she said walking off.

"How long do you think it took her to find that review?" He asked his daughter once Martha was out of hearing range.

"Probably all afternoon."

"Oh yeah," he solemnly agreed, but he continued to chop the unions. They were almost ready for Alexis to start mixing the salad while he cooked the lamb.

"Oh come on, you know she does it out of love, right? I mean she thinks it's her job to keep you grounded." Alexis said.

"Well, I certainly feel grounded." He said as his phone began to ring in the back pocket of his jeans. He reached for it and pulled off the goggled. He said, "You have the bridge, Number One?"

Alexis gave him some sort of salute as he walked away.

Rick accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Is this Richard?" A female asked.

"Yes, it is, who's this?"

"It's Tiffany. You called me for a date."

Rick sat on the sofa, then laid down. "Yes I did, Tiffany, and I am so glad you called. Just out of curiosity, what are you wearing right now?"

Beckett found Lanie first, her height giving her a clear advantage, about a minute after she walked into the bar, "Hey, Lanie." She waved an arm capturing her friend's attention.

Lanie soon saw her and they immediately closed the distance between them, and greeted each other with a quick hug and press to the cheeks. Lanie said close to Kate's ear, "Damn, girl, you look great and you smell expensive."

"New perfume." Kate replied and stood back to take in the sight of the doctor out of scrubs and in evening attire. Of course, the girls were out on show and the dress was tight.

"So jealous of your height, Kate."

"It's just height, Lanie. You're dressed like you might be meeting someone after our dinner date."

Lanie laughed, "I might be catching up with a potential boyfriend. He's on shift at the hospital right now."

"A doctor." Kate pointed to a table that had just been vacated. They made a quick beeline to the table.

"Why aren't you going on a date after we part company?" Lanie asked as they sat down at the table.

"Because I'm not dating anyone." She casually replied as she picked up the menu. "Wanna share or you really hungry?"

"We'll order two and share?"

"Sure." Kate mulled over the menu.

"Just how long has it been since you went on a date, Sweetie?"

"Christ, I haven't dated in ages," Kate replied, "Not since, Sorenson?" She screwed up her nose, trying to recall the last date without thoughts of dating Rick interfering with her concentration on the conversation.

"That was like a century ago."

"Really? Doesn't feel long ago and I've forgotten about dating lately." Beckett said flipping over her phone in case Rick decided to start texting immature or dirty messages as he frequently did when they were apart. She'd sent him selfies of herself dressed up so she was expecting a response. He was probably busy with his daughter.

"You deserve to be with someone, and speaking of dates why aren't you dating Richard Castle? You are aware he's got eyes for you, right?"

Kate blushed, thinking about the way Rick did look at her, when they were making love, when he gave her a coffee in the morning, while she worked and he stared at her. That one she didn't particularly care for and she often felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. And he probably was. Just like she found she wasted a lot of time imagining him in various stages of undress or positions. She was particularly fascinated with the fact she couldn't remember how he felt inside her. It was like pain. Humans forgot. But she knew she liked it, and that's all that mattered. She waved her hand dismissing Lanie's comment. "He's not interested in me." She said, and put down the menu. "I'm ready to order."

"He is and I'm ready to order too." Lanie said. "You should date him." She stood up and grabbed her wallet, "My shout, what's your poison?"

"Chicken burger and a scotch please." Kate replied. Lanie gave a nod then went to the bar to order. She was back in no time with a table number she placed on the center of the table. She sat back in her chair leaned over the table and said, "There's a guy at the bar who asked me if you're single."

Kate frowned, "Really? I hope you said no." She couldn't resist a search for the guy Lanie was talking about but none of the men near the bar were paying them any attention.

"I told him he would have to ask you himself. He's drop dead gorgeous, Kate."

"Which one?"

"Tall, dark. Older."

"Forget it. Older." She waved it off.

"Well then, let's go back to what we were talking about. "Why aren't you fucking the brains out of writer boy? He's so good looking, Kate and he really wants to take you out."

Kate coughed, almost choking on a sudden intake of air catching saliva. She furrowed her brow. She was trying her hardest not to give up the truth; that she was doing exactly what Lanie recommended. She replied, "I want long term, Lanie, and he's not interested in long term. He's a player. He has a family. I've seen him in the newspapers…"

"Yes, girl on each arm. So have I, but they're just snap shots of minute seconds of his life."

"How do you know that? That he's not dating bimbo or floozies."

"Does he share with you he see's women?" Lanie inquired. "He doesn't hide much so I imagine he would tell you if you didn't shut him down."

"No. That his private life. I don't want to know that. So I would shut him down, but to answer you, no he hasn't mentioned dating."

"Because he wants to be with you, Kate."

"No. He has been married, has a family. I haven't done any of that."

Lanie rolled her eyes, "Denial, Kate. Do you not see what we all see? He's always with you lately."

"It was an order from the Mayor."

"Whatever." Lanie blew that off. "He divides his time between you and his daughter. So with you two sharing his time, when would he get time to date women?"

"I don't know. He's with me a lot, whether I like it or not."

"Mm. He's mostly with you and he happens to look like he's getting properly laid." The doctor thought aloud. A barman delivered their drinks along with a bottle of water and two glasses.

The detective momentarily got stuck in Lanie's comments. She stared at the bottle of water. Her mouth was so dry. She reached for the bottle as it was left on the table and poured to glasses. She skulled her water. Pouring another glass, she said, "I mean Lanie, he's had a string of women. Admits he has. He's a celebrity and can have any woman he wants. So maybe he gets it from a regular."

"I doubt it." Lanie leaned in closer, "Rick is very cute. I'd love to fuck him." She sat back with a satisfied look on her face.

For several seconds Kate stared at Lanie's brown eyes, almost of the understanding that Lanie was sending her a message that she knew it was Kate who was sleeping with Rick. The doctor's head tilted a little to right. Kate's heart was beating hard inside her ribcage. She felt a pang of jealousy too. There was a chance in hell Lanie was going to get an opportunity to try out the Castle merchandise. However, the doctor was right, but Kate had to push on. Lanie knew. Out of her trance, Kate asked, "You would do it with him?"

"In the blink of an eye if he wasn't so into you. When you guys come to the Morgue he's smitten with you."

Kate bit her lip trying not to laugh because it was Rick who said she was the dead give away.

"And he's been chasing your tail and here you are getting a drink with me after work instead of getting your freak on with Writer Boy? You might enjoy it too." Lanie said, casting her eyes towards Kate's hips. "I think you are enjoying his company, Honey." She picked up her glass.

"Yeah, well," Kate rolled her eyes, trying her best to put on a good performance. "You can have him." She said picking up her glass in desperate need of a drink. This was worse than grilling a criminal.

"To new relationships and having fun with boys." Lanie said. "Cheers."

"Cheers," They clinked glassed, and Kate took a healthy mouthful. The alcohol burned all the way down. Then she started. "He is annoying Lanie. He's self-centred, egotistical and completely…"

"Fun." Lanie butted in. "And take it from me, girlfriend, ya need some fun. I mean, how bad can he be?"

Kate was about to answer but glanced to her phone, when she felt it vibrating on the table. She flipped it and saw it was Rick. She looked over the table at the doctor. "Its him." Pure exasperation was all over her face.

"Answer it." She urged.

Kate rolled her eyes, accepted the call and said, "Beckett."

"Guess who's got a date with a prostitute!" Rick gleefully said.

With her eyes staring into the Lanie's large brown eyes, she responded, "Castle, what?"

"I got a call back from the prostitute."

She growled, "I said not to call."

He laughed, "Oh, I see, you're putting on a show for Lanie."

"Yes, I am. I'm on a date, Castle, not sitting at home waiting for you to call." She rolled the eyes and put on her expression of impatience. Her mother used to tell her she'd make a good actress, so she put forth a might effort.

"Good girl. She wants to sleep with me right? I've seen her show off the girls, the impressive girls." He said with a laugh.

"Castle. You are so full of yourself."

"I know. I've set up meet, Beckett. Lunch time tomorrow."

"Ok. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm with Lanie so I have to go."

"Can I come watch?"

"Oh my God. I'm hanging up." She squawked and laughed, "Pervert." She squeaked and hung up, looking aghast at Lanie.

"What did he say?"

"He wants to watch us do it."

"Of course he does, he's male."

"Yeah, well. See? Like a man-boy."

"Still fun and you need fun outside of work."

"I need another drink. A big one. I can't believe he's arranged to meet with a prostitute."

"He wouldn't need to if you would give out for him."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Rick Castle is too much boy and not enough man for me," she said hoping she was selling this enough. Her body was actively responding to the conversation and to hearing his voice, his laughter and teasing. She knew her nipples were hardened, and her groin was aching. She'd had a damn good taste of the writer and her body longed for more of him. There was the greatest urge to share her secret with Lanie, but she knew it would then breach their current status. No one knew they were dating. She crossed her legs and put the phone down. There was a guy at the bar and she'd noticed he'd been casting his eyes at their table in the past five or so minutes.

"Is that the guy Lanie. Blue shirt, dark brown hair. My three o'clock?"

Lanie took a discrete look in the general direction and gave a nod. "That's him."

Kate smiled, "Maybe we should have some fun."

When they were tired and no longer interested in dancing or drinking, Kate and Lanie decided to call it a night. They shared a cab back home, Lanie dropping Kate off at her apartment. She was tired, a little hungry and, definitely tipsy. It was a certainty the last Scotch had effected Kate's sensory system. She unlocked her door and slipped inside placing the locks into position to secure her home. As she turned about she seductively called, "Castle?" She could already smell his expensive aftershave.

"Here. In the bedroom."

Kate smiled hearing his voice. "Wait till you see what I'm gonna do for you." She walked across the living room her heels clacking on the floor boards. As she walked past the coffee table she snatched a chocolate bar from the glass bowl Rick had placed there a couple of weeks ago.

"Hurry up, already." He called.

She mustered up her sexiest voice, "I hope you're ready, Ri …kyyy." Silenced by what she saw, she stopped in the doorway to her bedroom. Rick was seated on a pink chair by her bed. The pink chair. He was fully naked but for a pink tie hanging around his neck, his knees well apart, his large claim semi aroused. "Castle?" Her hands shot to her mouth. "You got the chair?"

Rick smiled at his girlfriend in the simple black dress with the shabby denim jacket and high heels, and those legs that went for miles. He'd completely forgotten about the chair he was perched upon. She unwrapped a chocolate wrapper and popped the sweet in her mouth. "Chocolate," she muttered with a full mouth

"You don't know how hot you look, do you," he commented and saw her smile broaden, her cheeks blush. She was excited. She was a little intoxicated.

She broke down the chocolate, studying his face, before she replied,"I can see it in your eyes," she answered giving him a soft smile. "It's all I care about, that you want me," she said staring at him on the pink bedroom chair. She giggled and clapped her hands. "The chair."

"Shit, you really are drunk, Baby," he said with a laugh. The last check of his phone he had read a text from Kate letting him know she was on her way home, and was feeling tipsy. He liked her tipsy. She really let down her guard.

"I like your tie. Matches," She pointed at the chair. "Castle, that's the chair."

"The chair?" He asked appearing confused.

"Our pink chair." She gleefully said playing along. She shrugged her jacket off and threw it to the bed then stepped out of her heels. "How did you get it?"

"What do you mean?" He saw her hitch her dress up high revealing a tiny piece of her red panties.

She stepped to him, putting her hands to his shoulders as she straddled him. He put his hands to her waist drawing her in. She kissed him, pulled back and bit her lip before she whispered, "You got our chair."

"Mm." She tasted of chocolate and scotch. "And it is the chair."

She stroked her fingers over the pink velvet, "How? They said no."

"Everything has a price." He replied watching her face.

"Thank you." She said and followed it with another kiss then she leaned in to hug him, her fingers feeling over the patterns in the dark wood. It brought back that evening, that particular moment when she had been sitting on the chair. The room smelt of smoke from the open fire, of his cologne, of them. They'd been on the chair when something incredibly significant had surfaced in her conscious thoughts without a hint of warning. Awareness had brought a warmth, but later, she'd been fearful. The chair was her grounding point, her reminder of a realisation that had internally changed her life.

"I can't believe you got this." She whispered sitting up so they could talk and see each other. She put her hands to his collar bones. "No one's ever done something like this for me."

"Well, get used to it." He replied with a deep voice, "Arms up." He lifted the dress from her body. He tossed it where the jacket had landed, his eyes taking in her pale skin, from her clavicle to her belly button and south from there. She was wearing a plain red bra with matching panties. Simple, but elegant.

"You are beautiful." He rested his arm about her waist when she leaned against his body.

"Mm," she closed her eyes. "I'm drunk, Castle."

"Nothing wrong with that." He pushed back her hair, noting how warm she was.

She whispered. "Us."

"I wanna do us." Rick whispered into her right ear then pressed his lips to her temple. Kate moved on his lap so her body was pressed harder against his.

"Castle," she whispered, her tone telling him exactly what she wanted.

"Same. Did you have a good time with Lanie?"

She sat back and nodded, and smiled in thought, "She didn't break me if that's what you're thinking. She tried. She laced me with alcohol. Lanie is suspicious because you're with me much of your time and look like you're getting laid." She pressed her lips together and swiped her hand across her lips. "My lips are sealed." She sang with an intoxicated vivacious laugh that caused Rick to do the same.

"You didn't cave."

"Not at all. A guy hit on me. I pretended I was interested which caught Lanie off guard."

"Guy?"  
She shrugged her shoulders, "Some guy bought us drinks."

"You accepted?"

"Never drink anything someone buys me, except you. Could be spiked." She murmured breathlessly because his hands on her body, just caressing her were taking her to another level of bliss. He had magical powers in his hands. She understood why cats purred when they were caressed.

Kate slid along his thighs then stood before Rick, leaning her hands on his knees, not saying a word. She felt intoxicated, relaxed and had an overwhelming desire to drop to her knees for him. Staring into his eyes she saw how bright blue, full of want they were. He gazed back seemingly aware of what she was thinking.

"On your knees," he whispered.

She instantly dropped to her knees between his thighs. "I'll show you how much I like you on this chair." She said grasping the pink tie. She slid it from his body and let it go to the floor. "Now you're naked, Mr Castle."

Rick closed his eyes as Beckett lowered her head, take him in her hands. He rested his head to the back of the chair. "Jesus, fucking Christ, I love it when you do that."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

( )

The following day, Rick was seated at a table in a city restaurant waiting for his guest to arrive. While he waited he thought about what would happen if someone in the media got a shot of this oncoming scene. Snappy little article entitled something like, _Richard Castle, dining with a high class escort in NYC_. His mother would have a field day and his daughter would get plenty of flack about it at school. It was also highly probable his new friends at the 12th would get a whole lot of joy out of it. It was still a bit of a novelty for the detectives having a writer follow them, so any opportunity to stir him would be snatched up. That would be alright, because then Rick would feel like he was a part of their group; that he was fitting in. Beckett would definitely give him grief and he guessed she would be a little prickly because she'd already shown signs of jealousy. Healthy jealousy. She would understand how the article go to be but it wouldn't stop emotions. They had strong feeling for each other right now of there was a risk of disruption. He sighed, then sat up when he sighted the blond woman he recognized from the photographs approach his table. She was wearing a bloody tight dress and a smile full of white teeth. He stood up.

"Richard, I'm Tiffany." She greeted holding out her hand to shake.

He took the shake, conscious not to break her hand with a crushing grip. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tiffany." He pulled out a chair, "Please."

"Wow, a gentleman." She remarked, sitting down as he pushed the chair in.

Rick had to smile, well aware Beckett would have heard that comment from the microphone concealed in his sweater, "We're a dying breed," he replied.

"Well, it's lucky I found you." Tiffany said as Rick returned to his seat.

"Actually," he replied, "It's lucky we found you."

He looked up as Beckett approached the table, showing her badge. She said, "Detective Kate Beckett. We need to ask you some questions regarding your relationship with Councilman Jeff Horn."

Rick gritted his teeth and squeaked, "Sorry," when Tiffany shot him a look to kill.

As Kate sat on a chair, Tiffany said, "He was one of my regulars, but I swear I had nothing to do with his death."

"How often did you see Councilman Horn?" Beckett inquired calmly seeing that Tiffany had become a little anxious. She already knew the woman had nothing to do with Horn's death but she might have information.

"Once, maybe twice a week. At first he just wanted to talk."

"Right. He paid you just to talk." Beckett glanced to Rick, her expression telling him what she was thinking.

"Detective, most men come to me because they are lonely, because the people in their lives don't listen anymore. The sex is just a way for them to feel connected again."

Accepting that information with a shift of her butt on the hard chair, Beckett pressed on, "OK, when was the last time that you and Councilman Horn _'connected_?'"

"A couple of weeks ago, he came to me hysterical. He said that he couldn't see me anymore."

"What happened?" Castle leaned in interested, "Did his wife find out?"

"No, someone else, he said that he was being blackmailed. Someone had photos of us."

Beckett too leaned in, "Who?"

"He didn't know, at first he thought it was me. He got upset and then he panicked, he thought that I had told my friends."

"And did you?" Beckett asked.

"It may surprise you, Detective, but I have dreams of my own. Look, this just pays the bills; if our relationship ever went public he's not the only one that would be ruined." Tiffany replied her eyes shifting between her interrogators.

"You said he panicked?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, he was desperate to find out who was behind it. He wanted to cut a deal. He said that he couldn't keep making payoffs without the campaign finding out."

Kate sat back suddenly satisfied there was nothing to learn from the conversation with the escort. She'd seen him for whatever reasons and if there was information to share, Tiffany seemed like she would. "Thank you for your time Tiffany. If you do think of anything that might be useful even if you don't think it is would you please give me a call?"

Tiffany nodded, "I can't think of anything."

Kate stood up and Rick joined her.

"Nice to meet you Tiffany, and best of luck with the career you want." Rick said.

( )

"Politics, escorts, and blackmail, this just keeps getting better." Castle commented as they sat in the car on their way back to the Precinct.

"Councilman Horn was looking for his blackmailer. What if he found him?" Kate asked.

Rick shrugged and took a hold of the monkey grip as Kate was driving like a maniac that day, dodging in and out of traffic. "He gets violent. Blackmailer responds."

"And then tries covering what he's done by implicating Creason."

"So all you need to do is find your blackmailer." He said glancing to the time, seeing the day was passing quickly. "And Beckett?"

"Mmm?" She braked for a red light then glanced at him.

"I'll give you a thousand dollars spending money for LA if you can close this case before tomorrow evening."

"What? Why?" She creased her brow then looked forward, pressing her lips together.

"Because I want you on that plane with me. If we don't close this case, I am certain you won't come with me."

Kate went to say something, but closed her mouth. She thought about his offer. "A thousand dollars?"

Rick pressed his fingers to his temple, "Okay. Two thousand. You drive a hard bargain, Beckett."

"Two thousand? Cas-"

"Alright, five thousand but that's it," he replied and looked at Kate who appeared quite surprised and he assumed flattered. But then he thought about that and decided she was flattered at all. He returned her a look of confusion. "What?"

The hazel eyes shot forward out the front window and her foot pressed on the pedal as the traffic started to flow again. The lip was bitten, then she gave him a cautious glance. "Fucking hell, Castle. The women in your life really have you by the balls."

He glanced to his groin then her, bundled up in a coat and scarf her brow deeply furrowed. "What are you saying, Kate?"

"I will get the case closed before tomorrow night because I want to go to LA to be with you and not because of the spending money."

"Are you saying you don't want the money?"

"Do I have to spell it out?" She glared at him.

"I think so." Rick nodded, "Yes, I'm lost here."

"Geez. I earn my own money, Rick. My Dad is a partner in his law firm, so he gives me money every month to a trust account. I do okay."

Rick silently stewed on that for a bit as Kate drove the car. Then he nodded. "Ok. I understand. Not many cops could afford to live alone in your apartment in Tribeca."

"My Dad, well my parents set me up financially when I was little and I've worked since I was fifteen."

Rick was utterly taken aback by her response, "You always surprise me, Kate."

Kate looked at him, confused. "What are you thinking, Castle?"

"I'm not accustomed to independent girlfriends like you, that's all. In fact, you're the first who had refused to accept money from me. May I ask something?" He asked keenly.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Am I allowed to buy you surprise gifts?"

"Modest, yes. Knock yourself out. But I will be allowed to do the same back."

"For sure. I love receiving gifts." He smiled and planted a hand on her thigh.

"Cool." She replied as she turned into the parking garage, "The chair was a good one, Ricky. A fine gift for both of us."

"Yes. It was. It's something really special to you though, isn't it."

She gave him a single nod and put her hand over his. "It is. Thank you for getting it."

"You're welcome."

"And the tie was a nice touch." She said with a cheeky smile, "They make good binds, don't they."

"Smart ass." He said, catapulted back to the hour he was flat on Kate's bed, bound to the bed head at the wrists by the pink tie, with her riding and tormenting his body and mind. "You certainly like to be dominant."

She laughed, "Now, may I ask a question?"

"Sure." Rick waited for it, as she turned the vehicle into her allocated car space. She killed the engine then turned to face him, unclipping her belt.

"What is your pen name on fanfiction?" She asked very sweetly.

He stared into her hazel eyes, the surrounds of which narrowed ever so slightly, pushing him to answer her, "Not telling."

"Castle!" She growled.

"Did that have an exclamation mark? It certainly sounded as though it did."

"Yes! And that did too." She stated trying not to giggle. "I should have got it out of you last night when I had you tied up and submissive."

"Ooh. Nice. Next time maybe."

"Tell me, Castle."

"You've read all the Derek Storm fanfiction stories?"

"Not answering."

"That's a yes. Then you have read my FF collection."

"Collection?"

"Mm, and some stories are rated M for when Storm gets lucky."

"That would be all your stories then. I'll get it out of you, Castle."

"No. You won't. It's under lock and key. Sealed."

She paused in thought, "Castle, if Bollinger kept those photos of Horn and Tiffany under lock and key."

"In his desk drawer, you mean."

"Mmm. And Nesbitt said he had no idea about Horn's affair…"

"Someone did, Kate."

"Blackmailer did."

"We need to get Ryan and Esposito to cross-reference Horn's campaign payouts to the volunteers & employees at Bollinger's office."

"I'll call Ryan." She replied, "Shall we go get something to eat? I'm starving this morning."

"You're always hungry after we have sex."

"Oh. Hadn't noticed."

"I have." Rick replied and stepped out the car. He walked with her to the exit as she called Ryan to get started on the research. She took their orders for lunch as well, verbally relaying it to Rick so both of them would remember the boys' orders.

( )

By the time they arrived back at the Precinct Ryan and Esposito had done the research and found the victim Horn had paid off Bruce Kirby, the PI that took the photos. He was the obvious blackmailer.

A background check found Kirby had lost his PI badge for excessive force and was on probation for criminal intimidation.

The poured over the information while they ate lunch in the meeting room. Once their meals were done with Beckett asked the detectives to go collect Kirby and bring him into the Precinct for a chat and ordered they cease drinking so much coffee from the new coffee machine Castle had bought for the homicide squad. They were acting all jittery.

Kirby was the blackmailer, but he never saw Horn with the money to make the photographs go away, so the team booked him for black mailing and flung him into the holding cell to think about things, while they searched his home and office for the weapon used to murder Councilor Horn.

On Montgomery's instructions, the team started on a hunt to find the missing money. Two hundred and fifty thousand in cash was missing and was presumably with Horn when he was killed.

Castle and Beckett chose to make a follow up visit with Nesbitt with the hope they would get a list of contributing supporters of the political party Horn had lead.

( )

In the night, when it was approaching that time of being too early to go to bed but it was also a little too late to start anything for the remaining time, Rick was in his office winding up the last of the itinerary for his trip to LA. Almost six days away and it was going to be hectic. Alexis had usually come with him on these book launch trips but her schooling was too important to interrupt and she was bordering on being too old to travel with him on business trips.

On this occasion he had negotiated with his agent to be in LA longer but he had more spare time, so he and Kate could spend half a day everyday doing something together. Before bed, he would email Kate the latest version of the itinerary so she could make plans, do things she wanted to when he was tied up with signing books. She had mentioned there was a place where she could go rock climbing for instance. He had no desire to do that, but with Kate's physical form it was something she was good at and seemed to enjoy. He also needed to tell her how many evening dresses she needed and how many luncheons she might attend with him. She had muttered something about taking the one dress and wearing that to all the evening dates because she liked to travel light. Rick made himself a note to ask his agent to find a contact in LA where Kate could hire dresses.

"Hey." Alexis greeted standing at the entrance to his office.

"Hey. Finished your homework?" He asked not looking up until he completed what he was doing. He then hit save. It was a stupid question but he was her father.

"Yeah."

"Wanna finish mine?"

"Well, that depends, what you offering to pay me?"

"Ahh, I taught you well."

"Gina called, she wanted me to remind you about the reading and book-signing at Broadway Books tomorrow night."

"Well, that was nice of her." He said with a good dose of sarcasm.

"Yeah," Alexis agreed, then continued, reading from a post it note, "and if you don't show she will: _'Drip honey on your eyeballs and let loose a hundred fire ants_ '." She looked at him with a smile.

Rick gazed across the room thinking, "OK, what's worse? A hundred fire ants on your eyeballs or reading to a crowd, prose so bad it sent me screaming out into the snow?"

"You know, if you really want to feel sorry for yourself you should read the review in The Ledger."

"Really? What's that damn liberal elite saying about me now?"

"Richard Castle's stirring finale reminds us what good pulp fiction is all about. It makes us desire a world of startling imperfections so we can rise above and become the heroes we always imagined ourselves to be."

"It used to be such a good paper; to see it fallen so far... it's sad, really."

"Shut up." She smiled, "I'm proud of you."

"Oh, you remember that the next time I sing the peanut butter song in front of your friends."

"Have you caught the killer yet?"

"No. Hey, if you were in a lot of trouble and you needed a quarter of a million dollars, where would you get it?"

"I'd just ask you. Night!" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave his cheek a kiss. He smiled blissfully happy he had a teenage daughter who was still talking to him.

"Good night." He said then pondered on what Alexis had said, "I'd just ask you..." He echoed watching her run up the stairs.


	23. Chapter 23

_**This chapter wraps up the episode. Thank you for your feedback and comments. I really do enjoy receiving them.**_

 _ **To the person who mentioned "hire a dress" is incorrect. I was raised with British English – here is my reply:**_

 _ **\- the verb, hire, should be used for things which are transportable hence, hire a car, sports equipment, a boat, a bike, clothing etc. Rent is primarily used for property, e.g.; to rent a holiday residence; "office space for rent"; and "We're living in rented accommodation".**_

 _ **The next chapters will be posted fairly regularly, as I've completed most of the next episode which is episode 4.**_

 **Chapter 23**

It was more of an effort to remain in bed than to get up the next morning because Rick was excited and he wanted to close the murder. He tried to keep himself in bed a little longer but his will was stronger to rise. His instincts were telling him he was going to crack this case wide open so it would be solved. A murderer arrested, Beckett able to clock off for a week, meant he would have her bundled into a sedan on the way to the airport to catch a red eye flight to California that night. They would sleep on the plane and be at the hotel in LA early enough for a nap and a shower to wash off the New York dreariness. He loved LA and sometimes wished he'd moved over there as a young writer. However, in the last five or so years he'd been content in New York City and now he was really happy.

The trip to the Precinct was undertaken in record time with a spring in his step that even he was surprised about. He dumped his bag and coat on his chair to find Beckett's computer was on and she was logged on. No one else was around and the offices were in darkness. He heard the coffee machine gurgling away in the breakroom so he headed that way hoping Kate would be there and not in the gym bashing the crap out of a kick bag. He poked his head around the corner, hanging on to the doorframe, to see she was attempting to make herself a coffee on the new machine. She hadn't stuck around for the lesson so invariably she had no idea how it worked.

"Hi." He greeted.

Beckett jumped in surprise spilling her milky foam and coffee into the spill tray.

Her eyes were like a deer looking into headlights, "Hi."

"Something I need to show you. I found this in the archives from his first run for office." He held the paper out between them, "See, Horn wasn't wealthy but his wife came from money. She tapped in to her family trust to finance his first campaign."

"All this time we thought Horn was hiding his affair from his wife."

"Yeah, but what if she knew about the affair? What if he got the blackmail money from her?"

"We need to look into it." Kate replied and gave him her cup because she could see he was busting his ass to take over the coffee making.

"Get going Detective. I want you on that plane with me tonight," he quietly said so no one else would hear, in case someone had arrived.

Kate stepped a little closer when she replied, "I'll be on it."

"Have you packed?"

"Kind of. I'm stuck on the number of dresses."

"Don't fuss about that. Gina has a contact in LA. Hire the dresses or use the thousand to buy something," he said with a smart ass smirk.

She punched his arm. "Keep your money writer boy. You need to save for a decent diamond." She widened her eyes, turned and walked out the break room listening to him choke. She had a little giggle to herself.

"Coffee, Castle," she called moments later.

"Coming."

...

Within an hour, Esposito and Ryan had arrived at work and the team did a thorough investigation of Laurie Horn's finances. They quickly learned from the administrator of the family trust, that Mrs Horn had marketed about three hundred thousand dollars of stock the previous week.

Bank records indicated the funds were drawn two days before the exchange was proposed to take place.

With this information, Beckett had enough evidence seek a search warrant. She rapidly prepared it and sent Ryan to have it signed and approved. By the time he returned with a valid warrant they had a team ready to dispatch to the Horn's residence. They sent Ryan and Esposito out to find Mrs Horn who wasn't home.

Mid-afternoon, Beckett and Castle sat opposite Laurie Horn at the desk in interrogation room one. Both remained calm but they wanted Mrs Horn to confess to the murder, Beckett had just asked Mrs Horn about the $250,000 she taken from her shares and now she waited.

The response came fast and sharp. "Of course I didn't say a word. It's none of your damn business."

"Despite the fact that it could have had significant bearing on your husband's murder?"

"I have a family, Detective Beckett. Their father is dead. What use is dragging their names through the mud providing fodder for late night comedians?"

Rick asked, "When did you know?"

Mrs Horn looked directly at Rick, "The trust called to confirm the stock sale. My wonderful husband forged my signature on the papers thinking I would be too stupid to notice, and when I confronted him he claimed he needed the money for tax reasons. Reasons that I wouldn't understand. But I understood all, right? Everything that I wanted, everything that I wanted us to be, and he can't keep his fly zipped."

"So, what did you decide to do?" Beckett asked.

"Well, between public humiliation and blackmail, I chose blackmail and I told him to make it go away." Laurie answered.

"So, what do you think happened that night?"

"I don't know, Detective."

Beckett glanced to Rick, processing what Mrs Horn had said. "OK. So that night when he called, what did he actually say?"

"That he had the money and he was going to meet the guy and that was the last thing he said to me. God knows what happened after that."

"And you are sure that he had the money?" Beckett asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because we found it at your house."

"My house?"

"The search warrant was served this morning. Your housekeeper was very co-operative." Rick said.

"If your husband had the money when he was killed, how did it get back to your house? You were more than angry, weren't you?" Kate said, "You were outraged. He didn't just betray you. He humiliated you, and everyone was going to know. So you just decided to make it go away."

"You see those wives at the inevitable press conference, standing stone-faced next to their men, and you think 'how do they do that? How do they just stand there? How do they just watch as their whole world melts into a spotlight of shame?'" Laurie stated.

"And so, you killed him." Beckett suggested.

"No." It was hotly objected. Mrs Horn took a deeper breath, calmed and replied, "No. I was home."

"You called your husband at eleven pm. What did you say?"

"I was with my daughters."

"Conspiracy to commit murder is the same as murder whether you were there or not. Are you ready to deal?"

Mrs Horn paused, in resignation, before she answered the Detective. "It was my job to make the call. I was supposed to tell him that the blackmailer had changed the meet. I was supposed to tell him where to go, down by the underpass where no one would see. He had it all arranged, even that rug for his body. All I had to do was make a call. He said he would make everything like it was, he said he would make it look like someone else did it. He said no one would ever know."

"Mrs Horn. Laurie. I need to know who." She encouraged softly.

"It's not supposed to be like this. We were friends and we were going to change the world."

"Who Laurie?"

"Frank Nesbit, murdered my husband."

Kate looked at Rick who simply raised his eyebrow. She then turned back to Mrs Horn, "We have to detain you until we have found Mr Nesbit. I will have a uniformed officer come and collect you and have you charged."

With that Kate stood up and gathered her note book and papers up. She said to Rick. "We have to get the boys rounded up asap." He was already ahead of her and opened the door. She passed through the doorway ahead of him and paused to give the uniform on duty instructions to process Mrs Horn.

...

After Mrs Horn's paperwork was processed she was charged, Castle and Beckett questioned Nesbitt for a quarter hour before she left it to Ryan and Esposito to finish up. They returned to the homicide bullpen, bumping into Captain Montgomery who was leaving for the evening.

"Heard you arrested someone." The Captain addressed the pair who walked with them towards Beckett's desk.

"After we found the weapon in Nesbit's office he made a full confession. He got Horn to call her husband and get him down to the overpass and then he took care of the rest." Beckett informed her Captain.

Castle continued, "Politics was Nesbit's life. He figured if the scandal broke, his career would be over and he'd be damaged goods."

"Sad thing is, he was probably right. So, what happens to the girls?"

"Horn has a sister up State. She's coming down tomorrow to pick them up from social services." Beckett replied.

"Good. And the rug?"

Castle smirked, "A red herring. Nesbit heard they were dumping a bunch of them and figured it would keep us off his trail."

"Nice work." Montgomery commented at Castle, "Very impressive." He kept walking but saw Beckett's expression. "Oh, and ah, you too, Beckett."

"Sir?" She squeaked and Rick smirked.

"Just yanking your chain, Detective, just yanking your chain." He called back as he continued to the elevator.

Castle mobile phone was ringing with his daughter's ring tone. He picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dad, where are you?"

"Where am I supposed to be?" He asked watching Kate walk to her desk. She had a very nice sway to her hips and he didn't tire of seeing it.

"Fire ants, eyeballs?"

"Right. Stall for me. I'm on my way. Oh, sorry, sorry." He waved Kate farewell, rushing out of the bullpen towards the elevator.

...

It was a last minute, spontaneous decision, but well worth the effort Kate made to attend the private reading. Castle had invited her to it a week or so ago and she'd told him yesterday she would most likely use the time to pack to LA. As luck would have it she'd packed most of her stuff last night.

She almost followed Rick out the door from work tonight, making the decision to go see his reading and to interrupt him and work. She rushed home to get changed and then cut across town to the bookstore, Rick was about half way through the question and answer time. For quite a while she stood in the background observing the writer's composure, his ease to stand up in front of a room full of strangers and calmly deliver a show. He was funny, delightful with the crowd and comfortable being in front of a group. She had arrived towards the end of the question and answer time. Mostly present was a bunch of middle aged women, all holding hard back copies of his latest novel in their laps. There was a handful of men. The area allocated to Rick was full and he held everyone's attention. He captivated people wherever he was. He did it with her. She didn't have that ability with crowds nor did she like public speaking. He did it very well, a little like Goofy but he kept the crown captivated.

As he was finishing up his reading she decided it was time to let him know she was present. There was an opening in the crowd so she walked in her pink high heels towards him, shrugging off her coat.

"She stood there in stunned disbelief as the light in his eyes dimmed." He read with compassion. "He reached out for her and she took his hand, squeezing it for the very last time. She felt her heart stop a beat and in that moment, she knew he was gone. Darkness fell across the face of the city and across her face as well. _'Good_ ,' she thought, as the wind gathered up her hair, _'no one will see my tears_.' "

Kate didn't look in Rick's direction but she heard him stumble over a few words and momentarily lose track of his prose. She stopped, placing her left leg out. She was in a short dress and he'd noticed her. He recovered and continued to read as she glared at him.

The reading was soon over and a bunch of crying women applauded. Kate gave several claps, frowning at him as the women flocked about him to have their copies of his novel signed. She saw he was a very generous person with his time. He spoke to the people, took interest in them, each of them, asking about their personal experiences, which novels they liked the most. He spent a good quarter hour signing while Kate mingled. A guy had started up a conversation with her and was trying hard to maintain her interest. She gave her attention until she felt the presence of Castle gain on her.

"Detective Beckett, to what do I owe this very unexpected pleasure?" Rick asked stepping in close, aware she'd decided she wasn't going to come.

Beckett smiled at the guy, "Excuse me, thank you." She turned to face Rick, stepping in as close as she could in public. "I just figured if you're going to bother me at my work I should bother you at yours. That was quite a reading, very moving." She stirred and stared into his eyes in the way that always seemed to turn his brain into mash.

He stepped a little closer looking down at her, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Good, she thought as the wind gathered up her hair, no one will see my tears." She mimed, then asked, "How does wind gather up hair? I'm just curious."

"Oh, you're telling me how to do my job."

"Irritating, isn't it?"

Martha made her way to her son, gazing at Detective a hot pink sleeveless dress, "Oh oh oh, oh look at you." She said to Beckett then spoke to her son, "Denise from The Ledger says you are going to be number one this week, and look, everyone is buying your book. Now don't you feel silly for believing all of those reviews?"

Rick rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes I do." He dropped his arm around his daughter.

"Well, let's just hope Nikki Heat does as well."

Kate glared at Rick, "Nikki Heat?"

"The character he's basing on you." Martha said sounding surprised that Kate didn't know.

"Nikki Heat." She looked pissed.

"Uh oh." Martha murmured.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" She grabbed Rick by his arm.

"Of course." Rick was dragged off by Kate.

Martha held Back Alexis who went to follow them. "Let them be…"

"I want to hear."

They stopped where they were out of everyone's hearing range. Beckett got up in Rick's face, "What kind of a name is Nikki Heat?"

"A cop name," he stated holding her stare.

"It's a stripper name." She spat out.

"Well, I told you she was kinda slutty."

"Change it, Castle."

"What? Hang on a sec. Think of the titles. Summer Heat, Heat Wave, In Heat."

"Change the name." She clenched her jaw.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Change it."

"No."

"Castle."

"Sorry."

"I'm not speaking about this…"

"I have artistic integrity, Beckett."

"Artistic integrity?"

"Yes If I, if I…"

"Change the name, Castle, today."

He gently took hold of her elbow urging her away from the people, "If I do it now, what next? What more demands would you demand…"

"Are we done?" She asked.

"Not changing her name." He leaned in close and whispered, "We need to leave soon. My bags are in the sedan, the plane leaves at midnight, and with you wearing that dress-" He cast his eyes down her body, "Well, I'm gonna fuck your brains out before we leave your place. So, turn yourself about and get that gorgeous piece of ass outside to the black sedan."

A wicked smile crept over her face as she put her hand up to his chest she briefly touched. She whispered matter of fact close to his right ear, "You're not gonna fuck me till you change the name and," she paused, "till you give me your pen name." She shifted back biting her lip.

Rick smirked, looked about the room of dispersing fans, then leaned in and whispered, "I will have you begging me for it."

"Not a chance." She replied, "Car? I thought we'd get a cab."

"Sam is outside and waiting for you." He held up his hand showing her the screen that had the text from his driver. He was aware Kate wouldn't walk outside and get in a car with a stranger. "I will say goodbye to Alexis, wrap this up."

"Ok. You ready?"

He nodded. "Hit me with it."

Beckett gave the writer a stern look as she said loud enough, "Don't bother coming into the Precinct until you have changed her name. It's my integrity."

She turned and walked off not giving him a chance to reply. She deliberately swayed her hips. She never looked back, but weaved her way through the dispersing crowd to the entrance of the bookstore.

As soon as she was on the pavement, a man in his fifties she recognized as Rick's driver approached her.

"Miss Beckett. Follow me. I'm your driver, Sam. Do you remember me?"

"Yes. How are you?" She asked as she fell in beside him.

"Well, thank you. You look lovely as always." He commented.

"Thank you." Kate followed him comfortable to, because he was the guy who had picked her up on her first date with Castle. She knew he was Castle's regular driver and she recognized the vehicle. Sam held out his arm to provide her with support if she required it in her heels when they crossed the road. She accepted not wanting to hurt herself before they left. She wanted to get away for a few days and nothing was going to stop her. The driver opened the back door and she slipped into the seat of the town car. She threw her coat onto the seat then waited for Rick. The privacy window was up. Kate crossed her legs and checked her phone. Within five minutes, the opposite door opened and Rick climbed inside the car.

He grinned, "Hello there. I've shaken myself loose." He fell onto seat closing the door behind him. He tapped three times on the glass to let Sam know they were right to go. "My daughter was very intrigued about our conversation." The car started and seconds later was crawling into traffic.

"Does she know I'm going with you to LA?"

"No. They think I'm travelling alone."

"Mm." She took a deep breath. "So, Nikki Heat." Kate said.

He grinned, his hair falling over his forehead. He was adorable. His hand to her bare thigh he replied, "Yeah. The name Is staying." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "You are a beautiful woman, Kate. You put me off my job tonight, showing off those legs of yours." He breathed in, paused, then added, "And you smell bloody divine."

She smiled. "It was my intention to distract you." She said with a softer tone, liking the way he was pressing his soft lips to her skin. So delicate, it was sending shivers down her spine.

His hand caressed her shin, up, then down to her foot, and he lifted her leg to uncross it. "Gonna pay for your naughtiness in the book store," he grumbled. "So gonna pay."

"No." She closed her legs at the knees, laughing when he nibbled at her neck. His hand slipped to her inner thigh. He growled close to her ear. She squirmed because he was making her nerves tingle like crazy. Her fingers caressed his jaw as she shyly said, "Castle."

As soon as she'd said his name she felt the intensity of his affection increase, then he paused, pressing his forehead to the side of her. "God you smell beautiful." He whispered which caused Kate's heart rate to increase, and the muscle of her being flexed. The ache for him was strong.

"You smell pretty good too." She whispered.

He smirked.

"What, Castle?"

"What was that I heard about saving for a diamond?" He asked his mouth against the side of her neck.

"Diamond?" She laughed, "Nothing. I was joking."

With a finger to her jaw he gently turned her head so she faced him and looked right into her eyes. "I don't think so, Baby." He replied his voice lower, then kissed her lips. She responded her knees parting for him. He slipped his fingers beneath her panties. Their kiss ended with a groan of lust from Rick who bit his lip and raised his left eyebrow. "Mm." He gave her another kiss, "Who gets off teasing the writer, huh?"

Kate held back a giggle. He hit the spot that caused her pelvis to jerk and her legs fell apart. "Castle." She whispered.

He smiled, "Oh, there we go," he watched the beginning of her end, then he nipped at her jaw, her neck, while his fingers circled her tender bump. Her body had certainly take a fair amount of punishment since they'd start dating and she was far more sensitive to his touch each day.

"The driver," she huffed out, her body stiffening.

"He can't hear or see us." He answered but glanced to the window to ensure it was closed. "It's okay. Relax." He continued, "And you're not getting what you want."

"I don't want it." She replied staring into his eyes.

He chuckled in amusement, "Your body is telling me differently." He kissed her tenderly, tasting her, feeling her. The signs she was thoroughly enjoying this were all there. Her eyes were dilated, her lips were fuller than when she'd been in the bookshop and the fabric of her panties between her thighs was wet. She gasped when he slid his finger inside her. She was useless at refusing his advances. Making love with Beckett was one of the most exciting things he'd done in his life and it was mostly due to the way she responded, the way she came on to him all bloody day. She was sex on long legs and in the book store she'd been having verbal sex with him. Her hands went for the zip of his pants but he beat her to it and held her away. She wasn't having it. He was going to have her begging him for sex by the time she walked into her apartment. Inside she was wet, tight and extremely hot. She tried to throw him back in the seat so she could straddle his hips but he pressed his body against her, using his weight to restrain.

She released a groan of frustration. His fingers finding her G-spot had her collapse back into the seat. She was his for the taking. She didn't have the urge any longer to fight for dominance and her hips came to life responding to the gentle strokes he applied.

Using his story telling tones he began talking close to her ear, "You're going to be on the edge of cumming, so close, but not there."

"No."

"By the time this car arrives at its destination-"

"My home."

He smiled. She was so into his story telling and her body was responding to his touch, "Your home. You want to cum, the ache is driving you crazy. Your bad side wants me to take you in the street."

"Mm. No. Police."

"Bad Police woman." He growled.

"We make out in the elevator. The moment the door to your home is closed, I grab you by your arms, lift and carry you to the wall."

"Arrhh.." She smiled and laughed, "Like wall sex with you."

"We're good at it." He agreed, kissing her shoulder, "Your back makes a clump on the wood and your pink heels clunk as they fall to the floorboards. These long legs clamp around my body and your hands are tugging at the button of my pants.

"Castle, make him drive faster."

He grinned in amusement, "Funny girl."

"I'm gonna cum."

He ceased arousing her. "No. You're not."

"Cas-." She was cut short by his mouth over hers, his tongue pushing against hers.

...

"You refuse to give over your FF name." Kate hissed at Rick who was busy opening a bag of Australian sweets he'd found in a store a few days earlier. He had saved them for their flight. She watched him tackle the red and green bag which had his full attention.

"It shouldn't put a stop to a quickie." He said once the Allens bag was opened.

"It didn't stop the quickie," she replied.

"Not a chance in hell," he said. He peered inside the bag, "Oh, smell the sweetness."

"Big kid."

"Try em before you say that?" He offered the bag to her and she caught a waft of the sweets.

"What are they?"

"Snakes Alive. Bag of snakes. A change to gummies." He reached inside the bag and pulled out a red snake. He dangled it in front of Kate, teasing her.

"Snakes Alive? I've already had my fill of snakes alive tonight." Kate said glancing down to his lap. When his eyes followed, she snatched the red snake from his fingers, hung it above her head and lowered it into her mouth, closing her lips around it.

"Haha." He commented, "My ears are popping."

"Mmm. Same."

They both yawned, at 12 thousand feet and rising above the earth in a commercial plane. They were in business class.

Rick keenly watched on. "What's it like?"

"Try one, a life experience," she encouraged.

"You sound like my mother. Did I tell you she's become a life coach?"

"Your mother?"

"Mm." He slipped a yellow snake into his mouth. "Pineapple."

"Strawberry. These are good, Castle." She turned the packet over to read the back.

"I agree, Beckett. Aussies like their lollies."

"Lollies?"

"They call them lollies." He stated taking another from the bag. "Red." He mumbled to himself.

"Not candy?"

"Nope." He took two more snakes from the bag then fished around in his laptop case until he pulled out a second bag.

Kate said, "Says on the back you can stretch or twist them or tie them in knots. Perfect for a nine year old boy on a sugar rush."

"I think his little girlfriend will like these ones."

"What are they?" She asked.

"Jelly Babies, and," he produced a third bag, "Strawberries and Creams." He smiled, "I thought we could compare the Jelly Babies to the Gummy Bears and the strawberry creams made me think of you."

"Sweet, Castle."

"Yes, I'm certain they are."

"Castle, if you eat these on this plane, all that sugar-"

"Yeah, I'll be insane." He laughed and reached for more snakes, "And these are pretty good."

"Snakes are great. Why don't we have sweets like these?"

"No idea." He remained silent a minute or so, experimenting with the tastes of the coloured snakes.

"Wanna join the mile high club?" He asked casually.

Kate put the bag down to her lap. "Castle. I can't believe you asked me…"

"Well, do you?" He glanced about them. Business class was almost empty and back in economy everyone was either sleeping or staring at screens. "Long haul flight. Everyone will be sleeping soon." The seatbelt sign went off.

"Are you kidding me right now?" She whispered glancing about to ensure no one had heard him.

Rick smirked, starting up is iPad, "Jerking your chain, baby. Enjoy the lollies." He tossed the bags in his case and lifted up the arm between their seats. He already knew her well enough to know she would soon curl up against him to sleep. She never strayed far from him.

"I wanna read your manuscript."

"Its more notes, at the moment. Bits of storyline." He glanced to her eyes, saw the locked. He nodded. "Okay. Sure. But not right now."

Rick waited for her response but she only gave him a nod. Her cheeks had paled off, the blush from their making love long gone. She pulled his jacket up over her shoulders and settled into her chair for a sleep.

"I am so looking forward to this holiday, Castle."

He smiled and ran his hand up her thigh. "Same. Where the snakes?"

She pushed the bag to his hand that was on her thigh. He brought the back out from under the jacket and took a few more. He then left the bag on the side of the chair between them. He once again looked at her.

"Have a nap, Honey. You look buggared."

"I am."

"Sleep. We have a big day."


	24. Chapter 24

_This is a little bit a story line for LA. Nancy, you put a hum in my chest for days. Honoured I had you write a comment after so long a time. Thank you._

 **Chapter 24**

They arrived in LA early, met the car Gina had ordered, and had for breakfast at the hotel they were staying at while they waiting for their room to be available. As soon as they had checked into the hotel, they had shredded themselves of travel clothing, showered and changed into business clothing. The car had picked them up at 10.30 am and delivered them directly to the doorstep of the bookstore.

The first bookstore appointment that day would become one of the fondest memories Kate had of their trip to Los Angeles.

As the prominent and famous bookstore was one of Rick's favorites, he was going to provide a private reading of a portion of his latest novel for a group who had paid to attend, similar to what he'd done in New York City the previous evening. The money raised was to be donated to a local charity that encourages children to read books. Based on a brief discussion with the store manager it was planned he would then answer audience questions and time would be left to sign books. They would be there for about an hour and a half for that session, then the doors would be opened to the public for book signing.

Waiting on the side lines, Kate guessed with a general head count that there were approximately fifty women and ten men present for the private reading. Everyone sat in a circular arrangement with a podium positioned so it enabled the keen guests to be close enough for everyone to have a clear view of the writer.

Beckett stood right beside Castle waiting for it all to commence, never really allowing too much space to creep between them.

Regularly, she quietly and secretly gazed at him assessing how handsome he was in a blue shirt and black jeans. With the weather being warmer than on the east coast, Rick didn't wear a t-shirt under his dress shirt. The cotton material of the shirt fell softly over his body showing his large masculine pectoral muscles. He was also unshaven. Ruggedly handsome, she thought smiling smugly to herself that he was also hers.

As the day was so warm she wore a white top, blue denim jacket and black jeans with heels.

Rick brought her close, and said "The crowd is gathering."

"Everyone is buzzing with excitement." She gave him a smile, "You are buzzing with excitement."

"I enjoy doing the private sessions, especially when it is for a charity." He saw Kate amused by something he couldn't see, "What's so funny, Kate?" He asked and stroked her back.

"All these women and a few men have come to see you," she commented. "Are they crazy or what?"

"I know," he agreed, "Weird huh?"

"Yep!" She replied smacking her lips together. "Too weird for me," she added and looked to the book he was holding, "What will you read?" She inquired reaching for the novel. Pages were marked with bright tags of what it seemed he was going to be reading.

"Give you one guess," he hinted, "Action scene with Storm." He saw she flipped through the pages.

"Oh!" She stood before him, peering up to his bright blue eyes. Seductively, and quietly she said. "Will you have Nikki Heat getting it on with someone?" She closed the hardcover novel and passed it back to him.

Castle smirked, "A ruggedly handsome writer, for sure I will," he replied and instantly Kate laughed. He thrived on her vivacious laugh.

"What you going to do Ricky?" She challenged.

"Just wait and you will see." He said. He drew her closer with his palm to her upper back, smiling cheekily. He saw the private group were making themselves ready to start in about three minutes. "Got your camera?"

"Of course. I better find my seat." Kate stated and with a finger touched his chin to gain his attention. When he looked at her eyes she whispered, "As the wind gathered up her hair…" She gave pause, bit her lip, "Just how does the wind gather up hair?" She inquired sarcastically and walked off knowing she had just successfully rattled his cage reminding him of last night.

Kate sat on a chair reserved for her in the front row. She relaxed and crossed her legs, her foot hanging but tapping to an internal rhythm she had going. She fished about in her large leather hand bag to find the digital camera. She turned it on. There was a sense that Rick was staring at her and when she lifted her eyes in his direction she saw a soft smile spread over his face. She smiled back, lifted the camera up and took the first photo for the session.

Right on the passing of the hour, the store manager stepped to the podium. His presence caused the audience to quieten.

"Thank you everyone and please take your seats. We have the pleasure of the company of a writer who keeps lights burning into the wee hours of the night. We all love a good mystery novel and it is my honour to welcome to our bookstore, ladies and gentlemen, our guest writer Richard Castle.?" With a gesture to Rick, the writer stepped up to the podium.

"Good morning all." He began. "I'm Richard Castle," he paused waiting for the applause to subside.

Kate watched on, no longer so surprised by how confident Castle was in front of an audience, no matter what the size. She got out her iPhone to record a little bit of video of him doing his public thing. She noted that quite a few ladies in the audience were already recording or taking photographs and Rick played right into it.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Well, I'm not a good looking as this fella here," he pointed at the life size cardboard cutout of himself which caused a laugh from the crowd, "but I'm far more animated. I'm here to read, and please feel free to raise your hand to ask questions as we go," he paused when his eyes fell upon his girlfriend recording the session like another crazed out fan. She smirked.

When Kate was done with the video, she stashed her belongings beneath the chair and stood with her camera in hand. She quietly faded into the background, capturing photographs of Castle, the audience, the bookstore, absorbed in what she was doing, all the time listening to him read. He answered questions, was the funny man, the joker. She also saw it was his public side, like she had her cop persona.

She was at his workplace, being a witness to his life, recording it with the photographs, just as he did with her life. He too now had a witness for his life and she wanted to be the person.

For a while she strolled along the aisles of books, taking the time to put things into perspective. She was a cop currently dating a writer. She needed to grow accustomed and accepting to that.

She strolled around the end of a corner to see a cordoned off area. There was a sea of people waiting to have their copy of Rick's books signed. Seeing the number of people gave Kate pause. She lowered the camera, her eyes wide. She had been expecting maybe a couple of dozen fans. What she quickly summed up was easily a hundred people standing in wait. She looked back to the podium where Rick was wrapping up his reading. He too would have noticed the crowd waiting to have books signed. He would be complaining of cramped fingers tonight.

He sent a signal to her he wanted her back, a small gesture with his eyes she instantly understood. She calmly made her way back to him through the rows of chairs, and returned to her chair she sat upon. Inside of two minutes he closed up the question/answer session, and stepped down from the podium. He made beeline to Kate, who stood up to greet him. He smiled and held out his phone.

"From Gina," he said. "Book is number one on Kindle, New York, LA lists."

Kate grinned, reading the text. "Oh Castle." She went to kiss him but stopped remembering they were in public. Rick however took over and put his hands to her hips. He kissed her.

He glanced around the bookstore at the bustling crowd, "Wait till they read, Nikki Heat." He said.

…..

"This is how I begin a novel," he said scrolling down the pages on his Word document.

"You work in Word," she commented. With his MacBook placed on her lap, she was leaning into his chest, sitting on the bed between his legs. She felt small in his fold and his chest was warm and snug.

"I keep it simple," he replied. Once he'd reached the main page of his workings, he rested his palm to her right thigh. She glanced to his hand on her bare skin. Soft, warm and smooth. He had nice hands. She tucked herself in a little closer. He pressed his lips to her shoulder. "You tired?"

"Mm. I'm still on New York time."

"Yeah, me too and its only nine pm here."

"I'm struggling to remain awake," she said reading the screen. Rick had finally succumbed to her passive pressure to show her how he wrote so she had then pressed him to see it that very evening.

"This is the page that outlines how the story will be built."

There was three quarters of a page of typing, and as Kate read it she learned it was a snippet of story, a short scene.

"It's fodder," he murmured, "and then I work from that. I might jump ahead and write what comes to mind and then there comes a time the story begins to fall together."

"You don't plan it?"

"Not really. It's kind of in my head."

Kate scrolled to the end of the document, hit enter a few times and then typed while he had a drink of his beer.

He looked at the monitor, and read, "I like the simplicity of being with you." He smiled, stroked her thigh.

"Mm."

"Me too." He replied, "It's so easy to be with you." He added as he lifted away the laptop and hit save. He closed the laptop and left it on the side of the bed. He then drew her body closer and hugged her, "It's time for us to make love for the very first time in another State."

Kate laughed. "Another city."

He pressed his lips to the side of her neck. "You smell divine, Miss Beckett," he whispered close to her ear, feeling her physical response. "Wanna devour you."

"Castle," she purred, "Your whiskers."

"My whiskers and jaw have the ability to …"

"Your lips." She replied, and turned about, twisting a little, so she was able to kiss him.

"God, you smell good," he mumbled between kisses. "Those bath salts…."

She smirked, "You chose them." She smiled as his fingers touched the side of her mouth, thinking about their visit to a store that afternoon. He'd bought her a bottle of perfume, the bath salts, and hellishly sexy lingerie.

"No. Did I do that?" He joked.

She laughed, "Yes."

"Oh, before we lose ourselves in each other, Babe, have you got your camera charging?"

"Yes. You mean for the course tomorrow?"

"Yes. He will pick you up at ten thirty."

"I cannot wait. Thank you for organizing it, Rick."

"Enjoy it while I'm getting cramps from signing books."

She sat up, and turned about, going to her knees. She caught his eyes, a cheeky expression over her face, because she was about to surprise him. "Castle, you ready?"

"Ready?"

"For your gift."

"Oh yes. Yes." He sat up and clapped his hands. "Bring it on baby. I'm dying to see this."

Kate released a more than girlish giggle then began to undo the four buttons of his blue shirt she had commandeered earlier. She went about it slowly, from the top button to the bottom.

"One," she said. "Two." she continued, with a seductive expression. "Three, and four." She dropped the shirt from her shoulders revealing the black lingerie.

"Oh my …." He grinned then chuckled, and threw out his arms, "Come here woman."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 _ **A Chill Goes Through her veins**_

It was well before dawn when a cell phone began to ring in the bedroom. Rick shifted, grumbling about being woken, then drew Kate's body closer using his arm snuggly wrapped about her waist. It was Kate's phone.

"Let it go to voicemail. It's still dark," he mumbled into her hair.

Beckett, who was tangled up in the bedsheets as much as she was Rick, and still half-asleep, blindly found the phone and answered. "Beckett…. Really? … Yeah…. No, I'll call him…. He'll be going to bed about now anyways… Bye." Kate hung up and dropped the phone to the bed, growling into her pillow.

"Who was that?"

"Espo." She pushed her body into his, taking her fingers in hers.

"And?"

"Body has been found on a building site."

"Seriously?" He put his head up then swept her hair from over her face.

"Mm. Building site. Sounds interesting." He kissed her shoulder suddenly awake, "I will go have a shower. You sleep a bit longer."

"K." She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a kiss before he slipped out of the bed. Kate fell back to sleep.

Rick woke her up once he was out of her bathroom. She sat on the edge of the bed like she was drugged, in a state of semi-consciousness. Rick leaned over and touched the side of her face. "Baby, wake up. You have a murder."

"When did we get back?"

"Like three hours ago." Rick glanced at his watch. They had in fact walked in her doorway just on three hours ago and he was about to dress from clothes in his suitcase.

Kate flopped back onto the bed wanting to sleep longer.

"Kate?"

"I can't do celebrity life," she mumbled, "Not cut out for it."

"Yeah you can. You were more comfortable at the parties than I anticipated." He took hold of her hands to pull her up to a sit once again. "We had so much fun, huh?"

"I had the best time, Castle. Thank you for taking me with you." She was so relaxed and didn't provide any assistance.

"You're welcome, and I will take you with me again because I had an awesome time with you."

"We risked a lot to be together."

"We were okay. C'mon Babe, you need to get up." He gave her hands a shake but she didn't make any effort.

Instead, she said, "Espo reckons you'll like this one. Something about frozen."

"Frozen?"

"Mm."

"I think I'll make coffee here this morning. You need to wake up."

"Good idea." Her arms fell about his shoulders as he pulled her up to a stand. She laughed, suddenly more awake and reached around him seeking a hug.

"You cheeky girl. You just wanted me to hold you." Rick declared then chuckled, giving her a playful hug, grabbing her bare ass. She squealed. "Okay, you're awake now. Shower." The writer let go of his girlfriend's naked body. She backed up, her lean form a little tanned from their days in California. Right now, he had his girlfriend, his very feminine girlfriend. Given an hour or so, the detective in the jeans and high heeled boots would return.

"I desperately need coffee, Castle." She stressed quite loudly.

"On it, Beckett."

"Better hurry, Castle, we have a murder to go to." She shouted from the bathroom.

Rick rolled his eyes as he rifled through his suitcase for clean underwear. The toilet flushed then the shower was started. She would be out in no time, and he needed to leave before her. He dressed then went to make the pot of coffee. He left two mugs on the counter with fresh coffee and cream and went to the doorway of the bathroom.

"Honey, where is the murder scene?" He asked swiping the glass screen of steam. He tapped on the glass raising her attention. She turned about, wiped her palm over the glass and grinned.

"Espo said he would text it to me." She said.

"Ok. I'll send it to me off your phone. I'll see you there." He went to leave.

"Castle?" She called. When he looked back she blew him a kiss that he caught and rubbing all over his face. She laughed which made him smile as he went to fetch his coffee.

…..

A half hour later, Beckett stepped out of her unmarked police car and looked about the building site that was currently shut down.

Dawn was breaking and the day was starting fresh. She paced over the road, all cop. Esposito approached holding a cup of coffee. He handed it to Beckett.

Esposito greeted her with a nod, "Why can't they find bodies between nine and five?

Beckett said "Well, early bird gets the collar.

Esposito chuckled, "Yeah. Should see this one, Beckett. Castle is beside himself."

"That bad?" She asked and saw Castle emerge from the crowd of police and workers like an excited Labrador. "Castle's here already?" She asked surprising herself at how surprised she did sound. She really could be an actress if she put her mind to it. Castle always said she was born to act.

Esposito said "He was here before I was. He's like a bloodhound for murders."

As Beckett and Esposito approached, Castle excitedly said "Oh. Finally. You are here. You're gonna love this, Beckett."

Beckett and Esposito followed Castle to the murder site. They neared the crime scene, moving through the small crowd of workers who looked on, to where Ryan waited. Kate searched the area, seeing Dr Parish ahead and what seemed high up. As they neared the thickest part of the onlookers who were all looking up she ordered, "Get rid of the audience Detectives."

Ryan took immediate direction of the crowd to disperse, "Come on. Show's over. Active crime scene. We appreciate your cooperation."

The team came upon Lanie, amidst the crossbars, examining the body of the woman draped in a soaking wet nightgown. Above Lanie, tangled in the rebar, is a ripped garment bag swaying and flapping in the morning breeze.

Castle looked up again at the body hanging on the steel beam and defrosting above them. Drops of water were constantly splatting on the ground and were gaining momentum as the atmospheric temperature increased. He said mainly to Beckett who also peered up at the body, "Awesome, right? My first cold case." He looked to her, noting her serious face, her _you've gotta be kidding me_ expression, "Oh, c'mon, Beckett. It's a little funny."

Beckett sighed and looked back up to the ME who stared down at them and replied, "Not so much funny as true. She's frozen solid."

Beckett's brow furrowed as she asked anyone, "What was the temperature last night?" She glanced at Rick, thinking it hadn't been that cold when they had caught the sedan from the airport to her apartment. She'd worn a leather jacket and sweater but she hadn't felt that cold.

Ryan replied, "Mid-forties."

"It wasn't exposure, Beckett." Rick stated.

Esposito said "Site's active. Boys tell me there's no way she was here last night."

Beckett said in a mixture of fascination and disbelief, watching the drops fall, "She's melting."

Castle said, "Maybe we should be looking for ruby slippers."

Beckett replied, "Yeah, while you're at it, why don't you look for some flying monkeys? Maybe they left her here." She sarcastically replied then looked up to Lanie, "So what do you got for me?"

"There are pieces of plastic on her body from the garment bag." Lanie answered.

Beckett inquired, "So she was inside the bag?"

"Mmm-hmm. Other than that, it's gonna take a while for her to thaw. I can tell you, she hasn't been here long. Maybe a couple of hours."

Beckett looked about them, at the scaffolding, the entrances, "What about security?

Esposito replied "Chain link. A pair of bolt cutters took care of that."

Ryan said "Looks like our guy was hoping she'd disappear into the concrete pour."

Esposito pointed at the structural beams that go in the way, "A few more feet, and she would've.

Castle chipped in "It's kind of odd, taking the trouble to freeze a body and then dumping it. We got two personality types working here. A killer who freezes a body is a keeper. He wants a souvenir. But a guy who dumps a body-"

Beckett said "Doesn't want to be reminded of the crime. Alright, I'm gonna go check out the fence."

Esposito said "Mm-hmm."

Beckett approached one of the CSU technicians who held the camera, "Can ya get a close up of her face so we can run her through missing persons."

Castle who was right behind Beckett, said "Oh, cool. Like on the Discovery Channel, where you plug the photo into a facial recognition databases?

Beckett said "Yeah. Just like that."

"Yes!"

Kate rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how gullible he could be for such a smart guy.

…

A stack of files were dropped in front of Castle who jumped back in slight surprise, casting his eyes over the dusty pile of beige folders.

Beckett dusted off her hands as she said, "Welcome to the Department's official facial recognition database, Castle."

Ryan and Esposito dropped another two stacks onto the table. They pulled up chairs at the conference table and sat down.

"By hand?" Rick queried, "Good grief, that's like life before TiVo."

Esposito half rolled his eyes, "Maybe you could download an "app" on that phone of yours. You could just..."

Castle faked momentary laughter then, scanning the piles of files, commented, "There are a lot of missing people."

Beckett grabbed a file, "One way or another, we eventually find them. Some end up dead, some turn up in a double-wide with a stripper named Trixie outside Atlantic City.

"And some just don't turn up." Esposito handed Castle a file.

Castle read the cover, "Dana Sullivan.

Esposito said "Mm-hmm. Her and her boyfriend left a club. He was a couple steps behind her 'cause he gets a call on his cell phone. She turns a corner just a few seconds before he does. And when he comes around, she's gone. Street's totally empty. No traffic. No nothing. In a matter of three feet, she literally just disappeared."

"People don't disappear off the face of the earth," Castle commented, glancing at Kate who he thought was looking adorable with her pile of files and her down to business expression.

Ryan said "Sure they do. Quantum physics, alien abductions, Schrödinger's cat. One minute, you're getting a hot dog in the park, the next you're fighting off Sleestaks on the far side of a dimensional rift."

"I don't buy it," Castle said, "There's got to be an explanation. A story that makes it all makes sense."

"Okay, Castle. What's our Jane Doe's story?" Beckett inquired.

"Well, I don't know how it starts, but I know how it ends. Frozen at a construction site. So, flying monkeys aside, what's the first question?" Rick asked his audience of three. "How did she get there?"

Ryan said, "Considering she was frozen solid, she had to have been kept pretty close."

"Not necessarily," the writer replied. He pointed to the city map behind him where the construction site would be. "Here is the site. Her body might not have been kept as close as you might think. It takes a long time for a frozen body to thaw.

Ryan said "What? You, uh, freeze a body once for one of your books?"

"No. But I cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving. It was a twenty-eight pounder. It took all night to unfreeze."

"She's a person, Castle. Not a turkey." Beckett said.

Castle said "Just making a point.

Beckett's cell phone rang. She grabbed it and accepted the call. "Beckett … Okay, I'm on my way." She ended the call then said to the guys as she stood up, "Lanie's got an ID.

Castle stood and said to Ryan and Esposito, "You'll take care of these?" He patted the top of the pile near him then hurried after his partner.

In the elevator, Rick leaned against the wall, "They have no idea, do they."

Kate smirked, "Nope. I just love being mean to you."

"I know you enjoy it too much."

….

"Now, Beckett, you need to do a better performance than the last time we hit the morgue together." Castle stated, riding shotgun in the car on their way to visit Lanie.

"What do you mean?" She was offended.

"The way you look today," he pointed towards her head, "Don't question anything about sex, if Lanie starts on that subject with this victim. Okay? Just go with it? Don't look guilty."

"The way I look today?" Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes. You look like you fucked your way through most of the days you had off."

"I did," she scoffed, "We did, Rick." She smiled, bit her lip. "Fucked like crazy."

"I know." He too smiled.

"I fucked your brains out when we weren't hanging about in bookshops." She declared with a wicked smile, her head full of naughty thoughts.

"I know. And it was a great work trip."

Kate grinned then moistened her lips.

Rick pointed at her again, "But don't do that," he ordered.

"Do what?"

"Grin stupidly when we mention sex and lick your lips like that." He growled, "It's gorgeous the way you do that."

"What?"

"Never mind. You have a serious case of that after sex glow that you get." He waved his hand over the front of his face and smiled when she laughed like a teenage girl.

"I can hardly walk, and my hips are a weary, Rick."

He smirked, "I know. That last one, the one before we left the hotel?"

"Mm?" She smiled recollecting.

"Totally shattered you."

"It was okay." She modestly replied, pulled into a park and killed the engine.

Rick scoffed, stared her down, and she tried her best not to laugh.

"Lanie's not gonna know we've been fucking for days," Kate stated with a good dose of confidence.

"She won't. It's you she will notice. Not me. I can keep a secret. It's why I win at poker."

"I'm more worried she'll notice my slight tan. Everyone thinks I was in the city."

"Just don't think about sex. You have a great poker face until it comes to sex. You get all smitten post coitus." He pointed out, then opened the car door and got out before he laughed. Maintaining his own poker face, he met Kate at the front of the car, ensured no one was about then faced her, looking smug.

"What Castle?" She said unsure what he was thinking. "Post coitus? That's immediately after you climax Rick."

"Post as in after, coitus as in intercourse."

"I know. I'm stirring you." She gave him a look of concern, "Do I really give it away?"

"Yes. Your body moves differently, your face is … I don't know. It's hard to describe. All aglow."

"Aglow? You're just saying that."

"I love it that you have that look on your face, Kate, that I put it there, that I make you happy. You look gorgeous, Miss Beckett." He seriously said. "I never want to be the person who makes you unhappy."

Kate's mouth opened but nothing came from it. She felt her cheeks heat up. She then whispered back very seductively, "I love it that I have that power over you." She glanced to his mouth, to his groin, back to his eyes, then turned and started walking towards the entrance. Half a dozen steps on, she summoned, "Castle."

"Coming."

….

The woman's body was finally unfrozen and was lying prostrate on the steel table. Lanie gave the vitals to Beckett and Castle who stood together on the opposite side. Kate was a little nervous about seeing Lanie after the conversation she'd just had. She was conscious of every action she made, if she touched her hair it might raise suspicion. She constantly hid her cheeks, avoided too much eye connection with Lanie so she wouldn't see the post coitus look. Paranoia was rife.

Lanie said, slightly distracted by Kate's odd behavior, "Melanie Cavanaugh, thirty-four at time of death. Turns out C.O.D. was blunt force trauma to her head." She pointed at the X-Rays.

"How'd you get her ID?" Beckett asked.

"Her fingerprints were in the system."

"For?"

"Misdemeanor drug possession."

Castle scanned the woman's body, "She doesn't look like a junkie."

"No. She's in pretty good shape, considering. But judging by the lack of frost and tissue degeneration,  
I'd say wherever she was stored the temperature rarely varied." Lanie said pointing her hand over the dead woman's skin, that wasn't blemished.

"Like a freezer?" Rick queried.

Lanie nodded and replied, "Freezer would do the job."

Beckett asked, "How long has she been dead?"

"Well, considering how long she's been like this, factoring decomposition, I'd say she probably was frozen  
within twenty-four hours of being killed."

"What do you mean, how long she's been like this?" Beckett brow knotted and she glanced to Castle who was also processing the doctor's information.

"According to the records I pulled, this woman's been missing for over five years." Lanie explained.

"Really?" Again, Beckett looked to Rick who seemed as surprised as she was. "We'll need to locate her family and let them know," she said mainly to her partner who nodded his agreement.

"We should. Let's get outa here then." Rick said."

"Go find out if she has family."

"Beckett?" Lanie interrupted. "Hold up, a second."

Kate stopped, curious whether the ME had any more information.

"What's going on with you?"

Kate's eyes widened and she felt her neck flare up. "What do you mean?"

"You have a glow, and you're acting funny."

The eyebrows shot. "Lanie?"

"She went to the gym." Rick intercepted, "I ordered burgers for lunch, for both of us. She was on the treadmill I guess. I ate the burgers with the guys. She got a flushed face and Sushi." He finished with a matter of fact expression that had Kate even believing him. "She's still hungry."

She quickly nodded and said. "He's right. I went to the gym."

"How things with Espo." Rick asked of Lanie. Instantly the woman's brown eyes narrowed at Castle who then held up his arms in surrender.

"C'mon Beckett. Time to leave."

In the corridor leading away from the morgue Rick, grabbed Kate's arm and crowded into her space close to her ear as they walked, "I told you Lanie would see right through you. She's unreal at reading people when all she does is hang around stiffs all day."

"I didn't do anything." Kate objected and laughed at the same time.

"What? You twirled your hair, kept hiding your cheeks. You were a dead give away."

"She doesn't think its you."

Rick let her go as they approached the entrance and security. They handed their visitor cards back and signed out.

"I will text the boys Lanie's news then we'll head back," Kate said as they exited the building into the rain.

"We're meant to get 6 to 7 millimeters of rain today."

"It's cold too."

….

Back at the bullpen, Beckett kept herself busy with reading Melanie's NYPD file. The detectives had not made much of an effort to find the missing woman five years earlier. Castle, who had been gone for a while, returned from the breakroom with two fresh coffees he set down on her desk.

Beckett said almost as though she was thinking aloud, "She had a troubled childhood, drug problems in her teens and twenties."

Castle answered almost smugly, "I know."

"How do you know?" She peered over the file at him, to see what he was reading. There was nothing but him looking smug too.

Castle said "I read the case file. She kicked the habit. Met and married Samuel Cavanaugh. She worked in a restaurant. He managed a bank. They have two kids."

"When did you read the case file?" She put the file down and reached for what was his coffee.

He kind of pointed at her mug, "That..." He let it go. "When you were in the little girls' room."

"I was gone for like a minute." She took a sip of the coffee and instantly screwed up her nose. She put the mug down near him then picked up hers and took a sip. She settled down.

Castle watched it all unravel, fully amused by her, then said, "Speed reader. Something I picked it up from my years stranded in the New York Public Library."

"Oh." She started to read again then seconds later, she stated, "Your coffee is terrible."

"Same with yours. Like non sugar vanilla sweetener." Castle replied then saw the glare she gave him, "Just saying."

"I like sweet coffee and vanilla."

"I know. You have a sweet tooth for sure. I don't know why you have the non-sugar vanilla with the amount of gummy bears we go through," he commented, thinking about the sweets stashed in various places in her desk, at home, in the car.

"Somethings gotta help me through the suffering you cause."

"Suffering.." he echoed, sarcastically. Then, after watching her agonizingly slow reading, he asked "Would you like the Cliffs Notes or, in this case, Castle notes?"

"Castle, how do you know you didn't miss something important?"

"Do I ever miss something important?" He quietly inquired gazing down her body.

She blushed. "No."

"Mm. No, she concurs." He sat up and continued, "Like, after Melanie disappeared, her husband waited a day before he called the cops?

"A day? That doesn't make any sense." She scanned the notes for this comment.

Castle shook his head, "Until you get to the third paragraph. Before Melanie was married, she was what is now referred to as a runaway bride."

Beckett skimmed the report locating his point of reference. "According to her husband, she ran away a whole two weeks before their wedding day."

Castle said "Mm hmm. And then she came back. Three years happily ever after, she disappears again. Comes back. Lather-rinse-repeat three times. No indication of where she went."

"Well, she must have had a reason for running away." Beckett suggested.

"Hmm. I'm not judging her. Some people love the institution, hate the day to day."

"Are you one of those people, Castle?"

Castle paused his mouth, wondering if this was a trick question. She knew he'd been married twice and had a succession of girlfriends. She was also known to pop a few questions about it, interrogate him in a subtle manner. It was possible she was baiting him. Then he bit the bullet, and answered, "I guess I just haven't met the right girl." His tone, expression and smile all full of subtext, caused Beckett to look away uncomfortably.

Castle moved on, "So, that's why her husband didn't call the cops. Because she'd done it before. Seemed reasonable to the detective at the time."

Beckett picked up the file again, "There's no evidence of foul play, so the detective just closed the case. Five years, and her husband thought she just ran away?"

Castle said "Guess it's time to tell him his runaway bride finally came home."

"Drink your coffee writer boy and we'll go visit him."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

One useless road trip, and hence, a wasted hour later, Beckett leaned back in her office chair releasing a big exasperated sigh. She then whined mainly to Rick because he was the only one within hearing distance, "I can't believe Samuel Cavanaugh was murdered. We went all the way out there and didn't check the records first."

Castle took a handful of gummy bears, shrugged his shoulders, "Me neither. But we can't win them all. We picked up a fresh supply of candy. Another bag of Snakes Alive, and you found that block of black forest chocolate. That was a good find."

"Yes, good call on the candy store. I also found the lollypops I love." Beckett happily replied, chuffed she had a fresh supply at work, in the car and she was taking some home. "My jar at home will be replenished."

"I'll keep some at my place for you too," he quietly said and received her nod of approval.

He then asked, "Like, what's the chance of two people in the one family being murdered at different times?"

It was Beckett's turn to shrug her shoulders. "Like this? Never seen it. Neither has Montgomery. Here come the guys, Babe." She hissed and indicated visually where the boys were coming form. Both sat up as Ryan and Esposito approached.

Ryan said "Hey, Beckett."

"Hey." Beckett said, "Did you find anything?"

"We sure did, find something while you two were out hunting down candy," Espo said scanning the desk.

"Good candy and Australian lollies," Kate replied, with a mouthful of gummy bears and she held out the dish as offerings to the boys.

"Lollies?" Esposito asked.

"That's what Aussies call candy," Beckett replied as the boys took some. "We Googled-." She paused catching Rick's eyes widening in warning.

Castle looked at the boys, "So, what did you find?"

Esposito said "Samuel Cavanaugh. Shot outside a grocery store about a year ago. Small caliber. Double tap to the chest. Wallet and valuables missing."

Ryan said "Poor schlub's wife disappears. Four years later, he gets shot in a mugging."

"Yeah. What are the odds?"

"Yeah, Espo," Castle agreed, "We were just saying, long, unless they're connected."

"Well, four years between murders? One's a popsicle, one just got popped? How could they possibly be connected?"

Castle chuckled, "Maybe he and his wife got into something they couldn't get out of, Espo. Maybe something to do with a drug habit."

"So, someone waits four years to finish the job?" Ryan queried.

Castle replied, "Maybe he finally figured out what happened to his wife and was about to go to the police with it."

Ryan said, "I don't believe it."

Castle said, "Give me 250 pages, I bet I could make you." He smiled with Ryan's laughter.

Beckett butted in, "We're solving a murder, Castle, not writing a book."

Castle ignored Beckett's bossy attitude, and continued, "I could call it, a chill runs through her veins."

Esposito said, "Ooh. I like that."

Castle and Esposito high fived and Castle exclaimed, "Bam said the lady, another best-seller for me."

Beckett lost in thought and beginning to be accustomed to the boyish behavior around her nowadays asked anyone who was listening, "What happened to the kids?"

Esposito replied, "Living with Melanie's parents up in White Plains."

Beckett said, "Looks like I'm going to White Plains." Then she gave the boys a wave of her hand, "Can you canvass the construction site? Someone must have seen something."

Esposito said "Yeah, the foreman said that they have a problem with the homeless at night. So, I figured I'd go down there later, try to catch them at the site."

Castle said "Hmmm. Homeless, White Plains. Homeless, White Plains." He watched Kate grab her keys and jacket.

Esposito said, "They're both kind of creepy places."

Kate also snatched an unopened bag of sweets for the car ride and a bottle of water. Rick stood and began to walk towards the elevator foyer. He hit down. There was no other place he wanted to be than at Kate's side and since he didn't have to be anywhere else, he was going with her.

They ate dinner at a diner, a couple of blocks from the 12th Precinct. They were mostly tired from little sleep and a long day. The trip home from White Plains had set in the fatigue. While they downed burgers, fries and milkshakes they debriefed on the information they had gathered that evening visiting the deceased's parents and an old cop that worked the missing persons case five years back.

"Ben Davidson." Rick brought up. "He certainly had it out for the cop who first had the case, Beckett, and he snapped at you pretty fast on that."

"Yeah, I caught that. He was really pissed off, bitter."

"He's held a grudge for a long time. Then, the useless cop, what was his name?

"Detective Sloan." Kate grumbled, and gave a frustrated roll of her eyes.

"That's the one, he was convinced she'd run away, and was equally convinced she was still on drugs." He bit into his second cheeseburger.

Beckett said "But her father didn't think that at all. Said she was clean."

Rick chewed, then used a napkin to wipe his mouth and fingers. He swallowed then said, "But her mother said Sam, the husband, thought she was gone because of drugs too."

"So why did the husband wait over a day before he reported her missing?" Kate asked tackling her burger that was falling apart.

Castle shrugged his shoulders, "She had run off before. She did use drugs."

"Besides that, if Sam had thought his wife was in trouble, why didn't he report her missing right away? Why didn't he call for help?"

"Because maybe he didn't want her found." Rick replied, picked up his burger and took a bite. "Maybe they had a fight and needed cooling off time. Like it seems you need with that bloody burger. What are you doing?"

"Maybe." She got it together with the burger, licked her lips then said, "Certainly been there." Beckett admitted, "I agree with Ben Davidson. That Detective Sloan did a shit poor job on the case. I so wanted to say something when we met with him at the bar, but I held my tongue."

"I noticed. It was killing you to hold back."

Kate smirked recalling her level of control during the half hour they had spoken with Detective Sloan.

"He also remembered Melanie Cavanaugh, like she was his failure." Castle pointed out.

"He said he had a missing person, not a murder." She said.

"From his point of view, all he had was a woman with a drug habit and a history of, uh, disappearing and a husband who had gone a day or so before he reported her missing."

Beckett said "Okay, let's look at Sam who was gunned down on the street over a year ago."

"Maybe we should look into the husband's best friend, Charles Wyler." Rick suggested, "Best mates. He would know the most."

"He's not exactly an impartial observer." Kate said. She then took a long draught of her strawberry shake. As she did, she noticed Castle's odd expression. She paused. "What?"

"You have an impressive appetite, Beckett. I like that in a woman. Refreshing." He smiled, then added, "I'm being serious, just in case I'm not sounding so."

"But I still won't get through all this," she scanned her plate, with a second burger to go and a bowl of sitting chips between them. "You order big, Rick." She put the straw back to her lips and sucked.

"I'll help you, as usual."

She kind of smiled her eyes glistening. "I'll share my food with you."

"Same." Castle said, "If I ever disappear, make sure this guy's not on my case."

"I would find you," Beckett replied without a thought, "I hate cops like him. Guys like him, things only make sense if they fit in a box. So, they make them fit, and murderers go free."

"Question is, would you break me out of jail?"

"I'd give it a shot," she replied, put down the shake and picked up the half burger she was working her way through.

"Is that what happened to your Dad?" He asked.

Beckett looked confused, "My Dad?"

Castle said "I noticed your watch. Was he…?" He stopped himself, when he saw Beckett's expression as she looked to her wrist. Her watch was oversized. Clearly a man's wristwatch and old style. It had certainly seen better days. "It's your dad's, right? He's why you wear it?"

"Yes, it was his."

Kate's work phone pinged to life on the dining table. She grabbed it up, glad for the interruption. "Beckett. Hi Espo," she looked vacantly into the distance, listened, then shifted her eyes to Rick's "We'll meet you there in ten or so…" A smile spread over her face, "Yes, he's still with me. Can't shake the bastard off." She said her dark eyes stared over the table at the blue eyed writer who grinned back at her. He was almost done with his second burger and had sauce all over his fingertips. "Bye." She hung up. "There's a storage facility along the Westside Highway near the river."

"Yeah, it was an old printing warehouse," he said.

"Espo and Ryan found something. Eat faster." She said even though he was eating fast enough.

"Bastard?" He asked.

"Playing the part, Castle. Playing the part."

"I think you enjoy playing the part a little too much, Missy."

She laughed, "Never had so much fun in my life, pretending to hate you." She giggled harder.

"Eat your burger, Detective." He replied then reached over and picked up Kate's second burger she was waving a finger at. It was a given she wouldn't be able to fit it in.

Beckett and Castle exited her police car and approached Esposito and Ryan who waited by their unit.

Beckett asked as she approached in her usual long strides, "You find a witness?"

"Yeah. Homeless guy. A couple of bucks jogged his memory." Esposito answered.

"Said he saw a dented yellow truck pull up to the site. Heavy-set guy pulls a large bag out of the back. When he comes back out, he doesn't have the bag anymore." Ryan added.

Beckett gazed about the old facility, "How'd you find this place?"

"The guy also remembered the word ' _storage'_ written on the side of the truck," Esposito replied.

Ryan continued, "We searched all the storage places on the West Side, found out this one uses yellow trucks."

Beckett looked about them particularly the pool of yellow trucks parked on the property. She asked, "So, who owns the trucks?"

Ryan checked his notes written in a pocket size notebook, "According to the DMV, Albert Bolland."

"Let's go find Albert Bolland." Beckett said to Castle, then turned to the men, "You guys go home and get some rest. Good job with what you found. I'll text you with what we find."

"Sure Beckett. Night." Ryan said.

"See you in the morning." Espo replied.

….

Beckett and Castle didn't take long to find the business owner, who was busy finalizing a few matters before he left for the night. Albert Bolland was a heavy set fellow who seemed to know he was in trouble the second Beckett showed him her NYPD badge.

"Mr Bolland, I am here about a body that was dumped at a building site early this morning."

Mr Bolland stood from behind his old wooden desk, his worn office chair rolling back into a old knocked up filing cabinet, "What body? I don't know what you're talking about."

Beckett said, "A witness saw someone driving one of your yellow trucks and dumping the body."

"You're lying. No one saw."

Castle and Beckett glanced to each other mostly in amusement, a little disbelief, then Rick suggested, "Ouch. Wow. Maybe you should have tried denying it first."

Beckett said "Let me help you. Melanie Cavanaugh, mother of two. Wife of Sam Cavanaugh."

Albert sighed, held up his hands, "Okay, look. I dumped her. But I swear, I..."

"You didn't kill her, right?" Kate guessed.

"That's right. I found her."

"Uh huh," Beckett responded expecting more information.

"I never even knew she was here."

Castle was curious as the guy seemed honest, even if a little stupid, "What do you mean, "here"?"

Albert pointed upwards, "Sixth floor. Renters were in arrears. We usually give them three months, and then we cut the locks and we sell the belongings. Only this time, all I find is a freezer plugged into a light outlet which, by the way, is totally illegal."

Beckett asked, "You didn't think it was illegal to store a dead body in a freezer?"

"You think I knew? When I opened it up, I nearly had a heart attack."

Beckett said, "You could have called the cops."

"So, I could make the front page of the Ledger? Yeah, that's good for business. What if it's a mob hit? I mean, I got a family."

"So did she," Beckett replied frustrated with the guy for dumping the body.

"So, you find her. Next logical step, dump her at a construction site?" Castle kept it rolling aware Kate was sensitive about the family for some reason.

"I know a guy who works over there. So, when I find the body, I figure that's the place, right?"

"Show us where you found her." Beckett requested using a tone that told the guy she wasn't asking she was telling.

"Sure. I'll grab the keys."

After a rather rattled and noisy ride in an old industrial sized elevator followed by a walk along a narrow corridor, they found themselves at the entrance of a dark storage unit. Using flashlights because the light was not because it was now an improvised source of electricity, they all stared at the top-loading freezer sitting inside the room.

"There's nothing else in the unit," Castle stated.

"It's been left untouched for years, even the lock was stiff when I first opened it the other day." Albert said.

Taking a nervous breath, Beckett stepped up to the long freezer, then lifted the freezer lid. A small internal light came on. She saw nothing.

Rick leaned over her left shoulder peering down upon an empty freezer, "Nothing," he murmured.

Using flashlights, they lit up the box, immediately sighting what seemed to be a few strands of the victim's dark hair stuck in ice.

Beckett solemnly said to Castle, "Five years in there. Nobody deserves that." She took a moment then turned to Albert, "How'd they make payments for the unit? Check? Credit card?"

Albert replied, "Cash, every six months. But, like I said, they were three months overdue."

Beckett said, "Puts the last payment at two months after her husband was killed."

"Hard to make payments when you're dead." Castle noted.

"Mm-hmm. Cash. That means…" She turned to Albert, "That camera in your office, have you got footage of the guy who made payments?"

"That was nine month ago. We keep maybe two weeks at a time."

Frustrated, and realizing how late it was, Beckett decided to wrap things up for the night, "It looks like Sloan was right, Castle. Sam Cavanaugh didn't have anything to do with it."

Castle nodded his agreement but then asked the obvious, "Well, if not Sam, then who?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea.

During the journey home, Kate asked Rick to do the driving so she could make a few phone calls. She arranged for the CSU department to collect the freezer from the storage unit first thing in the morning then had a quick conference call with Espo and Ryan to brief them on what they'd found. She finally phoned the Captain to update him on their progress. At Rick's place, he left the car running and they both climbed out. They stood on the curbside, and Rick quietly hooked his fingers into hers their eyes connecting.

"I had a great time with you in LA. We should do it again sometime Detective."

Kate smiled, "We should. I had the best time in your company, Ricky. You're fun to be around even when we don't have work." She closed her fingers around his. "Meet me at the Precinct in the morning?"

"Until tomorrow," he agreed, "I'll collect my case another day.

She nodded, "Good night, Castle." She let go of his fingers and stepped to the road, watching for cars.

"Bear claw?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"In the morning."

"Oh, yes please. Thank you." She blew him a kiss and gave him a smile.

Rick caught the kiss then pressed his palm to his chin, as he watched her get in the car. He stayed on the side walk as he drove away, then took himself inside his apartment building. He was ready for a hot shower, a scotch and bed.

…..

After Kate arrived home, she connected her digital camera to the Apple desktop to upload the photographs while she went for a quick shower. Out of the bathroom, she fished in Rick's suitcase for a t-shirt. Unable to resist, she pressed it to her nose to breathe in his scent. Only a half hour had passed since she'd dropped him at home and she already missed his company.

Beside the fact she lacked sleep and was tired, she still required downtime to allow the findings of the day to fade away until she was back on duty in the morning. Sleep would not come before her mind would be quiet enough. Huddled in the blankets of her bed, Kate was settled in for the night and her little night cap was there to sip on.

With the Apple laptop on the bed between her thighs, she spent some long awaited time, viewing the photos she'd taken in LA. Because she was tired and it was late, it was mostly a scan and assess how her photography skills had improved especially after the gift of a three hour photography lesson with a professional photographer. The photographer had taken her to some fantastic places and had provided her with opportunities to learn to play with light.

She paused, and reached for the glass of iced Scotch positioned on the bedside table, that once consumed, would have her dozing off soon enough. While sipping, she stared at the photo on her screen. A selfie of herself and Rick at Venice Beach, with him holding the camera. They both wore grins, windblown hair, and sunglasses. That afternoon he'd taken possession of the camera and had turned it on Kate. She hit the arrow and the next photo appeared. One of herself in a bikini top and shorts on the sand. She smiled at herself. Her skin was white compared to other people. That had been the afternoon she had caught a bit of sun. She looked down at her left arm at the tan she had. Back at the screen she flipped through a dozen or so photos until she came across pictures taken in one of the hotels they had stayed in. She smirked at the sight of herself in a silk slip, sitting on a bed smiling up at Rick who had been standing on the bed above her. There was a tray of cheeses and fruits half consumed before her, and she had a glass of wine in her left hand. It was a cute photo. The next was a photo of herself and Rick lying together on the bed and looking up at the camera. She smiled mainly because she already knew what photo followed. Rick had taken the photo. He was on his back, naked, she was straddled over his body face down on his chest, her head to his shoulder, his right hand in her hair. He had a closed mouth smile, his blue eyes stared into the lens, her eyes were closed, her expression content. He'd done it spontaneously. Picked up the camera, flipped it over in his hand, turned on the timer and held it up above them. Professional shot? No way. Fully automatic. Totally a snap shot but she fell in love with it. With that, she picked up her phone. She found the photo from the iCloud and prepared it to send to Rick's secret phone. She tapped out a text.

 _My favourite photo._

She hit send, then began to shut the software her laptop. While it was closing, she received a text from Rick.

 _You have a beautiful backside._ He wrote.

Kate checked the photo from her phone. Yes in the photo her back was bare, from her neck to the top of her butt, her right thigh and arm were slightly pink from being in the sun.

 _Yours is quite nice too._ She tapped back then sent another. _I miss you. Good night_. The phone was placed on the bedside table.

She laid down, turned out the light, pulled up the bed linen and closed her eyes. Content, she drifted off to sleep


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Beckett came directly from the print room and approached Castle who was resting in his chair, texting and waiting for her return.

"Hey, Castle, I finally have it."

He turned about as she came around his chair waving about a motor vehicle license photograph.

He smiled taking the photo from her to inspect the image, "Kevin Henson, the man who has the key to Melanie."

"Allegedly, and according to Charles Wyler." She plonked herself down in her chair, leaned back and crossed her legs.

"How's the case coming along Detective Beckett, Mr Castle?"

The pair looked up to see the Captain who was suited up obviously fresh from early morning appointments at 1PP. They all knew that within an hour the tie would be off the sleeves rolled up.

Castle handed the Captain the mugshot of a man in his late thirties with lots of wear and tear.

Beckett said, "This is Kevin Henson, who was Melanie's ex-boyfriend. He's currently serving a year for meth in South Jersey. He went in just after the last payment was made on the storage unit."

Castle said, "He stops payments, storage guy finds her body."

"Quite a coincidence," the Captain remarked.

"Yes," Beckett said, "And he was also on the outside when her husband was whacked."

"Sounds like he's worth a trip to South Jersey." Montgomery suggested handing back the photo. "I'll see you later."

Kate sat on a basic plastic chair beside Castle. She settled in, dragged the chair over the linoleum closer to the table, then opened her notebook and clicked the end of her pen so she could take notes. They waited in silence for the arrival of inmate, Kevin Henson, the person they were there to see. Henson had amicably agreed to answer their questions about Melanie.

Just on a quarter hour after their arrival, two jail wardens brought in Kevin Henson. He was ascent of cuffs and willingly made his way to the table he then sat at, giving a nod to Castle then Beckett. He took in Castle, lingered on Beckett's face a couple of seconds too long.

Rick noticed it, but decided to leave it alone.

One the wardens stepped back, Kate commenced the interview. She looked the man directly in his eyes, "Mr Henson, I'm Detective Beckett and this is Mr Castle. We're here to ask you a few questions about Melanie-"

"Mel? You found her?" His face lit up until he saw their somber expressions didn't change.

"Yes." Kate bit her bottom lip, sometimes wishing her voice didn't sound as young, as girlish when she was in a role of such authority. She slid the photograph across the table.

Henson looked at the photograph of Melanie, alive and smiling. He then looked to Castle, then Beckett.

"You ever been in love, Detective? Makes you do crazy things."

Beckett felt her cheeks immediately heat up, thinking about the man beside her, but she remained focused and pressed Henson, "Like, kill someone?"

He shot her a look, "No. Look, Mel and I, when we were together, time just stopped." He glanced between them in search of comprehension, "But even the first day, her and me, we both knew it was never gonna work. God knows, her folks were never gonna let _their little girl_ end up with a tattoed addict." He glanced down at his forearms, and Kate's eyes followed, seeing the tattoes on the inside of his forearms, "But sometimes, see... sometimes when we were alone together? Sometimes we almost believed," he trailed off, mentally somewhere else.

Castle brought him back when he said, "She was going to leave Sam. That's why she came to see you."

Henson nodded, "She found out he was having an affair. She thought he was gonna leave her and get custody of the kids, you know, 'cause of the drugs. She wanted me to go with her. Take the kids, just disappear."

Beckett asked, "So, what'd you do?"

"Put her on a bus," Henson replied firmly, his Adam's Apple doing an involuntary leap.

"You sent her away?" Castle asked in surprise having seen the man's reaction. He was noticeably upset.

Henson looked down at the desk, ran his finger on the grain. He then looked up and nodded, "What she wanted," he said, "I couldn't give her. I checked into rehab the next day. I thought if I could get clean. That's where I was when she disappeared. By the time I got out, she was dead."

"How could you be sure she was dead?" Beckett inquired.

"She stopped calling. If she was alive, she would have called."

Rick's knuckles lightly tapped Kate on the side of her thigh, signaling to her that Henson had nothing to do with her death. Kate turned and glanced at Rick a second then turned her focus back to Henson. She agreed with Rick. Henson was still in love with Melanie and receiving the news of her death had shaken him up. "Thank you, Mr Henson." She softly said. "We're very sorry to come to you with this news."

"You found her." He confirmed.

"Yes," Rick answered, "She has passed, about five years ago."

Henson looked at the photo he still held, "Can I keep this?"

Kate stood up. "Yes. Keep it."

Castle stood. He wanted to shake the guys hand but it wasn't permitted, "We're sorry, Kevin. But I promise you, we will find her killer."

Beckett drove the unit back to the city, her thoughts busy with sorting through their evidence, her mouth busy on a piece of chewing gum. Castle rode shotgun, looking out the side window unusually quiet.

Then out of the blue, about fifteen miles gone from the prison, Castle said, "Well, an affair certainly explains a lot."

"How so?"

"Easy. Sam killed Melanie, or, he and his lover killed Melanie together."

Beckett asked, "Well then, who killed Sam?"

"The lover. When Sam backed out after all she'd done for him. It's not like she could go to the police if he broke his promise."

Beckett thought about his comment before she asked, "How do you come up with these things, Castle?"

"I didn't come up with this one. They did." He was serious, his expression showing no humor at all.

Beckett took a breath then said "Okay, you speak guy. If Sam had a lover, would his best friend know about it?"

"Yes." Rick brightened up.

Simultaneous they said, "We need to speak to the best friend." They smiled, Kate momentarily looking away from the road to meet his shiny blue eyes.

Rick noticed Kate's pupils had dilated which in turn aroused his desire for her. Their ability to sync, turned her on. He silently thought about that, impressed he'd noticed. He didn't think Kate had any idea she was physically responding.

He picked up a bag of candy. "You know, Kate, purchasing candy for travelling with you, is like giving a nine year old a hundred bucks and letting her loose in a candy store without a parent. Never know what we're gonna get."

A spontaneous burst of laughter escaped Kate, as she braked for a set of red lights. Stationary, she scanned the console between them that stored their little collection. "I've gotta confess, Castle, the Australian ones are my choice of poison."

"I noticed. They disappear the fastest. Snakes or jelly babies?"

"Snakes, especially the red ones. You?"

"Party mix. They really have a selection."

"Mm. Agree." She reached out to his hand and surrounded her fingers over his. Her gaze was straight ahead waiting for the lights to change. "I want you to know Rick, I really enjoy my time shared with you."

He turned his hand over then squeezed hers, "Me too. A lot, but for fucks sake, please keep giving me grief in front of the others. You're doing an excellent job."

"I am, thank you and I will." She started the car forward again, following the traffic. "It comes quite easily."

"I've noticed. I'm just glad it's not serious."

"No.," she replied quite seriously. "You wouldn't want that."

"Noted. So just in case I need to know in the future, what melts the ice off Miss Beckett when she's frosty?"

Kate scoffed, laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Too right I am. Let's cut to the chase so I can make a direct route and not flop about like a fish out of water trying to make things good with you."

"Castle!" She pulled her hand from his and swatted him on the shoulder, then returned her hand to the steering wheel.

"What!" He squawked. "See. There's a sign of it, right there, Beckett."

"It's something you will have to ask my, Dad."

"Okay. Noted. Except we're keeping this affair a secret."

Kate glanced to him. "Maybe its time we shared with our parents."

There was silence, with the exception of the car running. Then at the same time they both said, "Not yet."

They laughed like kids.

…..

About twelve miles later and after a bathroom break at a fast food restaurant, Beckett and Castle exited the back of the store into the storage area directed by a staff member from the store front. They found Wyler supervising a couple of delivery men who were unloading furniture from a truck. Wyler noticed them as they approached.

He nodded at the Detective and Writer, "Detective."

Beckett came to a halt a few feet from Wyler, and firmly said, "You lied to us, Mr Wyler."

"Excuse me?"

Castle inquired, "You don't think maybe it's relevant that your buddy, Sam, had an affair about the time Melanie disappeared?"

Wyler smirked, blew it off as irrelevant, "That was a long time ago."

Beckett replied, "And Melanie was murdered a long time ago."

"What's the point in dragging everyone through the mud? Haven't their kids been through enough? Don't they deserve some peace?"

Beckett said, "What they deserve is to know what happened to their mother."

"Elizabeth Forte," Wyler replied, "Elizabeth Forte is her name. She worked with Sam at his bank."

"Elizabeth Forte," Kate repeated.

"Yeah. She was married too, and last time I bumped into her she still was, so you might not wanna be banging on her door, like you have mine."

Kate glanced to Rick, then said almost sarcastically, "I'll use my discretion, Mr Wyler."

Beckett lightly chewed on the end of a pen, deep in thought, so much so she hadn't noticed that Rick had set down a mug of chicken soup for her on the desk. With the exception of sweets, she'd barely eaten all day, and the smell of the soup had her tummy grumble.

"Hey." He quietly grunted leaning toward her. She came out of her daze and stared directly into his eyes, seemingly spooked by her own thoughts. "I got you soup." He pointed at the steaming cup. Her eyes followed his hand.

"Thank you. I'm starving."

"Where did you go?" He sat on his chair.

"Oh, just thinking about what you said to Elizabeth Forte."

"Which part?"

She sat back, turned the chair to face him a little better, and gave the soup a stir. Rick knew that was all thinking time. When she looked at him she began, "When you said that no one ends an affair because they realize they're still in love."

"Yep."

"That they end an affair because they're scared. Scared of taking it to the next level, scared of being found out, scared of ruining their life. You asked Elizabeth, what she was scared of." she finished speaking quieter than normal, unable to look at him anymore. She focused on giving the soup another stir.

Rick stared at her hand swirling the spoon in the soup. She was worried about something. "Elizabeth was scared of Sam. It's how all relationships end, well, variations of being scared."

Rick continued his observation of Kate, kind of wishing they were having this conversation in private, away from the bullpen. He sensed subtext in Kate's voice. She sounded younger, unsure of her thoughts and it prickled his nerves for reasons he couldn't explain. He always relied on the strength of his instincts and they were rarely wrong. The interview with Elizabeth Forte had unsettled Kate. She'd also been at the end of her pen which she only did with she was bothered.

"Kate, Elizabeth only had a six month relationship with Sam. He spooked her with what he said about getting his wife out the way, and that scared her. Rightfully so," Rick explained.

"She got away," she said with some thought behind her comment.

Rick watched Kate a few seconds then leaned in and carefully asked, "Are you scared, Kate?"

She immediately looked at him and shook her head in the negative.

"You would say if you were even nervous? Right?"

She nodded.

"Promise me, talk to me."

She nodded.

Rick's phone pinged with an incoming text. They both looked at his screen. Alexis was texting. He quickly read it.

"Alexis wants me home." He glanced about them, ensured no one was watching then gave her forearm a light squeeze. "I'll call you later, go home and get some rest. The case is closed." He stood and grabbed his jacket. He paused at her desk, tapped his fingers on the desktop in thought. "You know you can always talk to me about anything, huh?"

She nodded, "Bye Castle. I'll call you later."

He walked to the elevator foyer, not happy they'd been half way through what seemed like an important topic.

…..

For quite a while Kate leaned over her desk staring at a blank sheet of paper. Something was niggling at her consciousness and she hoped her brain would spill it out on paper. She finally wrote at the top of the sheet.

 _Forte feared Sam would harm his wife. Melanie disappeared, Forte broke it off and transferred jobs._

An hour later, Beckett still stared between the murder board and her notes. The soup was long gone and forgotten. A Post-it that had _Affair_ written on it was stuck to a photo of Elizabeth Forte. Pictures of Kevin Henson, and Melanie also cluttered the board, along with other notes... _Freezer, Philadelphia, Drugs?_ She studied the board puzzled. In the center, being orbited by the other photos and notes, was a photo of Sam.

Beckett repeatedly asked herself, "How'd you do it, Sam?"

Needing fresh air and dinner, she grabbed her stuff and left for the night.

….

Geared up in laser tag outfit, Castle sneaked across the living room in searched of his daughter who had, seconds earlier, hurtled herself out of the office just missing a strike from his laser gun. Alexis tumbled in behind a column, clutching a laser tag gun, concealed from her father.

"Ha-ha!" She jumped out and shot at her father.

Castle yelled excitedly, "Run Rebel, but you'll never defeat the forces of Voltar."

Alexis popped up from behind the column and opened fire at Castle. He ducked behind another living room column.

Alexis yelled back, "Death to Voltar! Death to Voltarians!"

Castle sneaked onward, "I sense fear in you."

Alexis scoffed, "Ha! You sense nothing!"

Castle pivoted out from behind the column and opened fire on Alexis who scrambled for cover. Castle maneuvered himself to another column. With absolutely no regard for the sacredness of the epic laser tag competition, Martha wade into the room, her face smeared with a clay facial mask, trusting she would not be harmed.

"Has anyone seen my purse?" She asked her co-residents.

Alexis dashed out from hiding and ducked behind Martha, using her as a human shield.

Castle paused and in exasperation said, "Mom. We are totally doing battle on the field of honor."

Martha looked at her son, "How old are you?"

Castle grinned, then gloated, "Old enough to afford the top-of-the line laser tag."

Alexis popped out from behind Martha and fired her weapon at him. She screeched, "Ha!"

Castle's body suit flashed and beeped loudly. He'd been hit.

Alexis laughed triumphantly, "Muahahahaha!

"I'm dead! Mom! Now Voltar will never rule the omniverse."

Martha responded with a questionable look, "Well..."

There was a knock on the door. They all looked at the front door then each other.

Castle asked, "Someone order food?"

Martha and Alexis replied, "No."

Castle lowered his laser goggles, still looking at the door, "Better check this out." He opened the door and fired the laser gun. Beckett stood outside the doorway, looking very surprised. Wide eyed she took in the sight of Castle dressed in his laser tag outfit.

Beckett gave him an awkward look, sensing she might be interrupting family time. "Hi?"

Castle responded with "Hi." He was very pleased to see Beckett, but also realized he had to now act like they were still just new friends and be …. Alexis gave him a dig in his side as she came up behind him, still in her outfit.

Alexis asked, "Who is it?"

"Detective Beckett," Castle declared.

Martha came up behind her son, sporting her beauty facial mask and peered at their visitor. Castle was sure Kate had just realized how fucking crazy his family was, and probably wouldn't see him anymore. His mother looked totally mad with the cleansing mask plastered over her.

Martha asked, "Darling, are we entertaining?"

Castle replied, "Um..." He was unable to think much further than, so there's Beckett staring at me, my mother and my daughter. We're staring back.

Alexis jabbed him again, bringing him out of his stance, "Dad!"

"Yeah?"

"Manners!" She reminded.

Castle said "Right!" He then mimed shooting himself with the laser gun because that seemed like the logical thing to do right now. But then he opened the door right up and held out his arm, "Come on in. Please. Enter. Welcome."

"-to our house." Alexis finished.,

Beckett said, "Thank you."

Castle said, "You bet."

Beckett entered the loft. She looked around, taking it in when the house was alive with family.

Castle said "You, um... You remember my mother, Martha, and Alexis, of course."

Alexis said "Hi."

Beckett smiled and replied, "Yes. Hello."

"Can I make you a drink?" He asked and Kate shook her head.

"No. Thanks. I had water in the car."

Castle led Beckett into his office. Beckett took it in. She'd only seen his bedroom and en suite the night she stayed over. There were books everywhere, but main mysteries on the bookshelves. She felt like she had found the details of his inner life. She had got through the part about him being famous, and being in this secret relationship with him, but now the reality of it all came rushing back. She was dating a celebrity, and here was his workspace. She gazed about in awe, unaware that Alexis had gone upstairs to study and his mother had disappeared.

"Wow. I feel like Alfred in the bat cave for the first time," Beckett commented.

Castle watched her, but kept casual, "Hmm. Batman fan. It figures."

"Why?"

"Similar origin stories. Loss of a loved one leads to a life of fighting crime," he replied.

"Yes, well, you are the multi-millionaire crime fighter," she responded, suddenly unsure of how she did fit into his world, how it would be if they weren't keeping a secret from everyone they knew.

Castle said "Yeah."

She noticed a smartboard in the corner of the office on which he had scrawled out plot points and material for his Nikki Heat novel.

Castle followed her gazed, "That's, uh, where I outline my books." He watched her study his board. "Before they get on the laptop."

"It's funny. Looks a lot like our murder board."

"Yeah, except mine's fake."

She looked at him for a moment, then replied, "Yeah."

Castle had a feeling she was pre-absorbed with a problem, "Something wrong?"

Beckett pressed her lips then replied, "I can't find it, Castle."

"Find what?"

"The answer."

Castle took a guess, "It was Sam. Everything fits. It's a good ending."

"Yeah, but without proof, it's just a theory. And that family, those kids, they need more than just a theory. They need to know. I need to know," she stressed.

Rick continued to observe, aware she was referring to more than the case they had just closed. He decided to go with it and perhaps what she was really thinking about would come to the surface. He just needed to dig a bit more, "Well, you have an ending. You want the rest, you need to work backwards. You need to finish the story. You have an ending. You have your killer. You just have to put it all together with the facts at hand."

"The facts?"

Castle said "Fact - they had two small children."

Beckett said "So?"

Castle said "Based on police statements, they didn't have a babysitter. With him at work, she would have had to have been with the kids the day she disappeared."

Beckett thought about that, then said, "But Sam said that she left later that night."

"Which the doorman was never able to corroborate."

"So, if she was there, and she never left, then..." Her eyes widened.

Castle caught on, "Then she was murdered in the apartment."

"Yeah."

Castle said, "Another fact, he lived in Manhattan."

"And, like most people in the city, he didn't own a car."

"So, what is a good husband to do, living in Manhattan, with his wife's body? He can't leave it in the apartment. He can't walk out the lobby with it. So, the only question is..."

"How did he get the body to the storage unit?" Kate asked.

They thought this through, Castle mumbled, "He... He could... No."

Beckett stammered the start of a word or two but was at a loss to figure it out. They sat in silence.

Castle asked, "You know what helps?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes, when I'm trying to figure out how a character of mine does something, I will walk  
the crime scene. This one time, I was trying to figure out how to throw someone off the Empire State Building, and that movie Sleepless in Seattle had just come out. So many lonely women approached me, thinking I was their Tom Hanks. I got laid-"

"Castle."

He frowned at her jealousy, "Point is, you want to get into a killer's head, go to where the killer was and see what problems he had to face. Field trip?"

"Tomorrow, it's late." Kate attempted to see through the book shelves into the living room.

"They've gone upstairs, if that's what you're wondering." He sat on the edge of his desk as Kate came closer to him. He put his hands to her hips.

"Stay the night?" He asked quietly looking deep into her hazel eyes. He could just see the brown surrounding her pupils.

She nodded. It was almost 10.30 pm and she was beat. "I'll leave early." She leaned into him a little biting her bottom lip.

"What's up?" He asked seeing her expression.

She laughed, "I'm experiencing a fangirl moment."

Rick smirked, "God that's cute. I answer the door with my entire family looking fucking crazy and now you're in here all coy because this is the place I write my books, yet I'm worried you won't keep seeing me because I inadvertently exposed you to my crazy family."

She instantly laughed her cheeks blushing, "Castle, your family is what makes you, you." She replied, slipping her arm around his neck. "You're famous. I've read your books since I was a teenager… now here I am in a relationship with you… my Mom would have liked you."

"Now you're making me feel old." He responded, sliding his arms around her waist, realizing this was the first time they had even approached their age difference of about seven years. He didn't care, and he assumed she didn't have a problem. She'd also brought up her Mom. That was rare.

"You're not old," she answered. "I will keep you young. After all, you're only as young as you feel," she whispered, pulling her arm tighter encouraging him in to kiss her.

He kissed her, then gave her body a good feel with his hands, causing her to laugh, "I'm feeling pretty young tonight."

"I'll make you forget the bloody Empire State Building…"

"Where?" He stood up off the edge of the desk, enveloping her body with his arms, and then in one move he simply lifted her off the floor, his palms cupping her ass. She instantly gripped his shoulders and lifted her legs to his hips confident he had her weight. They kissed, their senses also listening for any sounds in the common living area.

"You're like a drug, Kate." He mumbled between kisses, which only served to strengthen her response. He gradually carried his dame to the bedroom, managing to avoid any bumps or trips and stopped in the doorway.

They parted for breath at which time he said. "Close the door, Honey. Keep the red heads out."

"Do they know you call them that?" She laughed.

"Nope. There's a lot of things they don't know about."

"Like us." She said.

"Like us." He said.

He walked toward the bed. Kate ceased to kiss him and said, "Shower."

"Arr, cool." He carried her to the bathroom, lowered her when her legs reached for the tiled floor. On her feet she closed the bathroom door and locked it to ensure they had privacy.


	28. Chapter 28

_**We're well out of Disneyland in this story. This is rated M for its language, communication and the fluff. This chapter wraps up, and next chapter will move onto Always Buy Retail. Kind of having fun working this story into the series. Not sure how far I will go but please let me know if you want me to keep going. So far, I've written to the end of season 1 and start of Season 2 and redrafting all that.**_

 **Chapter 28**

The urge to take a leak woke Rick at roughly six the next morning. He reached out with his right arm to find the warm flesh of a woman but what he got was an empty bed. Kate was gone. He sighed, somewhat disappointed. He grasped the pillow her head had slept upon, dropped it over this face and breathed in the scent of Kate an unconscious moan of pure want escaping him. The same pillow had been pressed over her face last night to suppress the noise she expelled when she climaxed, so she didn't wake his family. He pushed off the pillow and stared at the ceiling, recollecting with a great deal of fondness, how many times had he physically invited her to orgasm. Each time she'd accepted the invite, and had then keenly rolled into impressive climaxes.

He'd lost count somewhere between the _Oh my Gods_ and _I'm coming_. His mouth and tongue had worked their magic. Her lean, responsive body had writhed up the bed, moaning, sighing and swearing, her mind transported to another place. Each time she'd escaped his reach, he'd dragged her ass back to his mouth that had covered her swollen, sensitive and sopping clit.

Rick groaned, roughly rubbed his bare chest with a palm. He loved the pain when she clenched her fingers on his shoulders. Every time had an orgasm, she cried out senseless words and phrases. She would blindly find his hands and grip them as her body shuddered through it powerful orgasms. It was only after she had begged him to stop, shared that her body spent and exhausted, that he'd penetrated and brought on her last peak. Kate was a thief in his bed. Without knowing it, she had stolen his ability to send her on her way like he did most women. By this stage in their relationship he would have broken up with her. He couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Kate every single day.

He sat up on his elbows and sleepily gazed about his immediate surroundings, using the available light. It wasn't quite sunrise. The bottle of water on the side table was empty and tipped over. He was thirsty, dry mouthed thirsty. The bed was a mess. The fitted sheet had come away from the mattress at her corner and the bedding was haphazedly thrown over the bed. Pillows were on the floor, along with the towels they'd used when they showered. He swung his feet out of bed and stood up. Body stiffness evidenced he'd certainly enjoyed a good work out. He really needed to get to the bathroom.

"Kate Beckett," he said aloud, the scent of her strong on his lips, his hands. "The woman's gonna kill me." He muttered, thoroughly liking what he was feeling inside about her.

A few minutes later, he wandered to the vanity to assess just how rough he looked that morning. His head was like he'd been on the alcohol for most of it. He needed to shave. He ran his fingers from his unshaven jaw, down his throat, to his strong chest, as he turned to face the mirror. There, in the middle of the mirror was a pink kiss. He smiled, because as it happened his body, standing fully upright, was positioned so that the impression of her lips was right over his heart.

"Cute, Beckett."

He picked up his phone from the vanity, opened the camera app and took a selfie. Once he saw the photograph was taken perfectly, so she saw what he did in his reflection, he sent it to her. Before he had a chance to put the phone down it received a reply text. She'd written.

 _Over your heart. Hey. Aren't you the sexy guy who fucked my brains out last night?_

He smirked. He wrote back.

 _Ruggedly handsome, but I'll accept sexy._

He waited.

 _Can you stay there? I'll be back in ten for another round._

He furrowed his brow, glanced down at his junk. "I don't think I have the strength." He muttered. He wrote back. He smirked.

 _Hurry up then._

Too soon he received another text.

 _Wow. It's a hot photo of you Ricky, but wats with the bruise?_

Rick searched himself via the mirror for the bruise she'd seen. He soon found a circular bluish mark below his right nipple. He found two more over his ribs. He tapped back.

 _Correction. Three bruises. Does that count as abuse?_

She wrote him back.

 _LMAO. Dunno. Do the ones between my thighs count as abuse?_

Rick let out a wicked chuckle, recalling when he held her down and had sucked and nibbled at the soft flesh at her inner thighs. The moans and girlish squeals she'd released, the way her fingers had gripped, how her body had curled up, had driven him going crazy with want. He sent her a final text.

 _Not sure, but I fucking enjoyed putting them there. I still smell of delicious you. Us. CU soon, babe. I won't be long._

He saw Kate had showered before she'd left the loft. He took a shower. They had pre-arranged to meet at the victim's old apartment before the current tenant left for work so he needed to be out the door soon.

Roger stood in the middle of his living room while Beckett and Castle examined the apartment. He'd given them ten minutes to do what they needed to do before he had to leave home for work. He watched on in confusion at the banter going on between the lady cop and the writer.

Roger interjected, "They told me he was shot in a mugging. And now you're telling me, he was killed here, in my apartment?"

Castle answered, "Not him. His wife."

"His wife? What kind of family was this?"

"That's a good question, Roger." Castle replied. He stopped in the middle of the living room, aware time was quickly ticking by and so far they'd found nothing. They needed play act it out. Beckett happed to come to a halt a few feet in front of him. He looked at her and said, "Alright. So, you and I are married."

Beckett looked aghast, "We are not married."

Castle frowned, somewhere disappointed in her strong reaction, "Relax. It's just pretend."

Beckett typically responded with, "I don't want to pretend."

Castle thought about that and for some reason, he couldn't resist asking, "Scared you'll like it?"

Beckett entirely paused to process what he'd said. Her eyes widened momentarily then she took a deep breath, obviously conscious she was presently under scrutiny. She sighed, relaxed her shoulders, re-engaged, "Okay. If we're married, I want a divorce."

Roger's head went from side to side between the cop and writer, like he was at a tennis match, "Are you two like this all the time?"

Castle and Beckett replied together, "Yes."

Castle pressed on because they had time constraints, "Alright. We're not married, but they were. Let's say the doorman's right. Melanie gets home about four o'clock."

"She'd have to make dinner for the kids." Beckett offered and the pair hurried through a doorway into a small kitchen.

Castle then said, "Then Sam comes home."

Beckett said, "Banker's hours. Around six o'clock."

Castle nodded and added, "Figure, kids have already eaten."

"So, they're what? Um... Watching TV in the bedroom."

Roger asked, "In my bedroom?"

Castle waved him off and said "Shhh. We're on a roll."

Beckett suggested, "They have a fight."

"About the affair."

"About Philadelphia," Kate offered.

Castle moved closer to Beckett his eyes trained on hers, "Things get heated."

"And she turns her head..."

"He whacks her with something." Castle said and they instantly search about them. They grabbed cooking implements. Rick a frypan, Kate a saucepan.

Beckett said, "A pot." She looked at the pan Castle held near her head, "Or a pan."

Castle exploded "Bam! Fractures her skull. It's over."

It startled Kate who jumped in surprise, then she said, "Except the kids are still in the bedroom. He's got to figure out a way of getting her out of the apartment without them seeing."

Castle suggested, "Hallway bathroom." They hurried past Roger to find the bathroom they entered. "He needed to buy time."

Beckett looked about them in the small bathroom and said, "Okay. So he, um, he puts the body in the tub, closes the door."

Roger began, "Wait..."

Rick shut the bathroom door with a good push.

Beckett carried on, totally into this playout, "And... he tells the kids that Mom went to the store."

Castle replied, "Which, according to the case file, the doorman was never able to substantiated."

"Okay. So, no car. How does he get the body out of the apartment?"

Roger opened the door and suggested, "Maybe he hailed a cab."

They both turned their heads to look at him then looked back at each other.

Castle said, "Yeah. Maybe the cabbie and the doorman helped him stuff the body in the trunk."

"How much do you tip for that these days?" Kate asked.

Castle lit up, "The doorman."

Beckett said, "Castle, I'm joking."

Castle asked, "What if the body was already in the freezer when he took it out of the apartment?"

"Freezer? He'd have needed a truck," Roger replied.

Castle said, "In my building, if you have something picked up or delivered, you have to sign for it."

"Yeah. Here, too. Delivery that big, you have to sign the ledger," Roger explained.

Beckett asked, "The ledger?"

"The doorman's ledger downstairs." Roger finished. "I have to go to work guys."

"We're done." Rick said then held out his arm for Kate to leave the bathroom ahead of him.

Outside the building Rick said, "Follow me."

"Where?"

"I'm starving. All the sex is working up my appetite."

Kate stopped on the pavement unable to go any further, she laughed so hard. Rick stopped and turned about amused by the sight of the straight laced detective barely holding it together. He waved a hand at her.

"Shit, you're really losing it, Honey. You need food more than me." He smiled as she caught up.

"I was thinking the same thing, Castle. I don't remember being this hungry after sex." She caught his arm when she wobbled a little on the uneven ground.

"Me neither. Don't fall of those sky high heels. How the hell to you run in them?"

"Practice when running from boys, Castle." She giggled.

He shot her a look. "Have you had coffee yet?"

"Nope. Water. I was really thirsty when I woke up. Scratchy throat."

"I wonder why." He said recalling the generous use of her vocal chords last night. "You are noisy."

"Well, you caused it, Rick."

"And proud of it." Rick opened the door to a French bakery, the first place he'd sighted that sold food. He waited for Kate to go in ahead then followed her inside almost shunting her to the counter where there was a display of all types of pastries, breads and sweets. They ordered mugs of coffee and croissants. They found a table in a spot people wouldn't really notice them, and placed their table number by the wall in wait for their meals to be delivered.

Kate sat, crossed her legs then leaned forward, slipping her arms out of her unbuttoned coat, but left it draped over the chair to sit on. She reached over the table and took his hands in hers. He immediately looked down at their hands then to her face giving her a cautionary expression they risked being spotted. But like her, he only saw regular people going about their business, not interested in them. His eyes returned to hers and he leaned across the table resting his elbows. His hands adjusted until they closed snuggly around her smaller digits.

She smiled. Overnight, something had changed in her emotions. Her chest ached for him so much she had the urge to cry. In the presence of other people, she knew she could continue to give him a hard time, but alone with him, she wanted to be physically closer. She stared at their hands, now tightly entwined, his grip firm enough to tell her he was feeling it to. What she genuinely thought about him was gaining strength and tugging at her heart. Nobody had ever done to her what he could do, how he made her feel when they made love. The desire to be with him was stronger than her appetite for food. It was a passing thing, that the passion and lust would gradually fade away but at the moment, it exhilarated and frightened her. The desire for more of it kept her faith in the relationship working.

The coffee and croissants arrived, which caused them to momentarily break hands while the waitress placed their order on the table. Once she was gone they settled back in, their hands sliding over the table until they resumed the position they had been in. For a little while Kate stared out of the window. She was hungry but she needed this moment with him. She eventually turned her eyes to his.

"Castle?"

"Mmm?" He smiled, his lips remaining closed.

"I'm experiencing things I never have."

He nodded, his thumbs giving her hands a caress. "Stronger now." He said.

"Strong, powerful emotions." She swallowed, and gently pulled her hands away, looking down at the warm croissant. The smell of the pastry wafting up spiked her hunger.

"Hungry?"

She smiled, "Yes. I'm starving." She gently pulled the hot pastry apart with her fingers.

He reached over and touched the side of her face. She looked up as she began to eat.

"Your heart is on a dime." Rick said. "A fine line."

She gave a nod, looking back at her food, no longer able to maintain a visual of him. She swallowed, flicked her fingers of crumbs, then looked at him once again, "We can't crash, Rick," she calmly whispered, "We're travelling at warp speed. It will hurt if we crash and burn."

"We're peaceful, Kate. We're doing okay." He carefully took a mouthful of coffee, raised his eyebrows when he tasted it. "Good coffee."

"Smells terrific," she replied and tried some of hers.

"Kate, I don't want you to be scared." He said, fell quiet a few seconds then asked, "Are you scared?"

"Yes and no. What you make me feel in here." She touched her chest. "It's so strong it hurts. This little bubble will burst and I will shatter."

"It's gonna be okay." He took her left hand in his. "You are so different, so gentile."

"Not the tough Detective everyone sees me as, huh?"

Rick shook his head, while he ate. He swallowed then said, "To the contrary. But I like seeing you play out the detective. You are strong, you are bold, and I like that, but I am rather fond of this other side of you that you allow me to see. Its lovely."

And she blushed. Huddled into herself a little, "Thank you, Rick."

"Always. Now eat, you're famished."

She laughed and nodded. "Starving."

They ate their breakfast mostly in silence, and not in a hurry to leave. As Kate had already clocked on and there was almost an hour before the boys would be at the Precinct that had time to chill out. With their second cups of coffees half consumed they sat holding hands, both aware that things between them had shifted into another higher gear. Rick rolled with it, but he knew Kate's fears caused her to partially resist progress and that resulted with her acting a little confused and vulnerable. Right now, he was not able to figure out why letting him in caused her to be emotional.

"You know." Rick begin, and took a sip of his coffee.

"Mm?" Kate encouraged leaning closer to hear him over the crowd. He had that expression on his face that preceded one of his story telling session. She loved him telling her stories.

"There's things, information, quirks, intimate things that you have given me, unknowingly given me that will one day be weaved into my stories. Only I will know where they originated from. Things you can only experience with life, a flash of a moment, a memory of making love and then share it in a way that's a little from reality but skating on the edge of truth. Why I write better as I get older."

"How? How have I given it to you? An example."

He shrugged his shoulder, turned the mug about on the table, "The way your body rises when I kiss your mouth, the way it quivers beneath my touch. How sensitive and highly tuned you are to your body, to me. How you huddle, like now. How fragile you are, especially how fragile you are." He put his hand to his chin, stared into her eyes, unable to say anymore for fear he might get upset. He loved her more than anyone in the world but he was frightened that saying it to her would terrify her. The walls would shoot up and she would run. He couldn't say it aloud when he was alone, but he certainly felt it all. He rubbed his chin, pushing away emotions. He suddenly sat up and lightly banged the top of the table.

"It's time we went." He said instead, picked up his coffee and finished it.

Their hold broke so Kate could dress in her coat. She too stood, and followed him out of the bakery to return to the car. Outside on the pavement, she pulled him to a stop. "Hey Castle?"

"What?" He asked, not able to maintain eye contact.

"What happened in there?"

Rick looked past her into the distance.

"Nothing, its good." He looked back at her and gave her a smile, "It's okay."

"Okay." She smiled uneasily and straightened the collar of his shirt. For the entire walk back to the car, she held his right hand her body against his arm. He found comfort in it. She was exceptional at showing her feelings physical.

The sun was well down in the sky when Beckett, Castle and Montgomery met in the Captain's office. They were relaxed, admittedly a little weary and ready to wrap it up for the day, but had come to the point of the day when they needed to update Montgomery. Kate didn't have the time or energy to write and submit a written report. She sipped a coffee Rick had made.

"I have a copy of the ledger page." Kate began. "Five years ago, Deloris Marsh who has an apartment in the same building as the victim, allegedly ordered a freezer to be delivered to her apartment. She said to Castle and me that she told the doorman she'd never ordered a freezer, that the doorman had gotten the wrong apartment."

"Delores said the delivery guy brought it on up. He loaded it on the freight elevator while she was talking to the doorman." Castle said.

"Yeah, and by the time she got back upstairs, the guy was gone." Kate glanced at Rick then to her Captain as she continued to speak, "She must have told this to Detective Sloan, but when the victim disappeared, but it's not in Sloans notes nor was it followed up in the investigation."

Montgomery said, "I don't get it. If Sloan had that woman's report, why didn't he just follow up?"

Beckett replied, "He wasn't looking for the story. He'd already written it."

Rick shrugged, his eyes on Montgomery, "So that lead us to Mueller Bros Delivery Service yard. We asked Charles Wyler to come to the Precinct for a chat."

"And?" The captain inquired.

"He said that Sam called him that night. He said he needed Wyler to go over to the apartment right away. When Wyler got there, the kids were asleep and Melanie was in the tub in a garment bag. He said she came at him, and he just snapped." Rick said.

"Wyler arranged for the truck because he said it could never be traced back to Sam. They sent the freezer to the old lady. Wyler rented out the storage space. Because he knew the cops would look at Sam." Beckett said.

Rick added, "Sam gave Wyler cash to make the storage rental payments."

Captain asked, "Why did he stop paying?"

Kate shrugged, "He didn't think he needed to keep paying for the rest of his life to hide her when Sam was dead."

Surprised, Montgomery shook his head and said, "Her body gets dumped because this guy Wyler didn't pay a bill? That's..." he trailed off.

Castle replied, "You can say it, Sir. Pretty cold. Ironic that such a selfish act ultimately revealed the truth."

Beckett said, "There were people who knew the truth all along. They just chose not to come forward."

"Still, karma comes back and puts a cap in her husband's ass, so all is right with the world," Montgomery said with some sense of satisfaction. "Good job. Gets some rest and I will see you both in the morning."

Beckett and Castle stood and left the office. Back at her desk Kate started to pack up her stuff for the night. They saw Montgomery leave.

Beckett looked at her watch and saw it was getting late. She turned to Castle, who was nose deep in the file. She said, "I'm going to phone Melanie's parents. Let them know how this shook out. You want to wait?"

Castle spoke as though he'd heard nothing she said, "The woman with the freezer delivery told us she talked to a cop."

Beckett replied, "Yeah. Sloan. Like we said before"

Castle said, "Only he didn't list her name in his report. She didn't say what cop."

"I know. We know that. Sloan didn't feel that it was important. After all, he didn't believe he was looking at a murder."

"Right. So, if you're not investigating a murder, why would you talk to the neighbor about a freezer delivery, Kate?"

For several seconds, Kate thought about Rick's comment, then glanced at the time. It was still early enough to knock on a door. "We need to go talk to Delores again." She said and grabbed her jacket.

"We sure do." Rick rushed after her.

Esposito picked up on the first ring.

"Beckett."

"Hi Esp. We're leaving Deloris Marsh's apartment. She gave us information that might break this case wide open.  
"What is it?"

"She said that Ben Davidson …"

"Melanie's father."

"Yep. Last year she said he came by her place asking her questions about a freezer she never ordered."

"Where you at now?"

"On our way up to Davidson's place. Its him Espo."

"Ok. I'll call the uniforms so they meet you there."

"Thanks, Espo. Call you later." Beckett hung up

Beckett and Castle sat in the car she had parked a house down from the Davidson house. From their position, they can see through the large dining room windows. The curtains had not been drawn so they had a clear view of the two young girls playing with their grandfather.

After a long period of silence Castle quietly said "You could just leave it like this. Sam's dead. The Captain's happy. Those kids look pretty happy." He was aware the cop was weighing up her options. The result of her banking on Davidson's front door would lead to a major disruption in the family unit. The consequences were potentially catastrophic to the children who had already experienced more than enough disruptions.

Beckett looked at his eyes as she calmly replied "That's the difference between a novel and the real world, Castle. A cop doesn't get to decide how the story ends." She opened the car door as he gave her a nod. He didn't have agree with her morally but he understood she was legally bound to follow the laws regardless of the consequences.

Castle watched her walk to the door. The two uniformed police fell in behind her. She must have hesitated before finally knocking. Through the windows, he saw Ben Davidson send the girls to their grandmother, then he went to open the door.

Rick saw Beckett and Davidson face to face for several moments then she stepped aside as the Uniformed Police took over. Davidson would ride back to the Precinct in the marked car.

That evening, Kate decided to commit herself to finish the paper work.

Ben Davidson had been arrested.

One dark night he'd followed his daughter's murderer, when he'd been sure no other people would be around. He'd confronted Sam with a gun he'd brought back from the war many year before. Held at gun point, Sam had admitted he'd been overcome with rage and had struck Melanie, killing her.

Davidson never confessed to killing Sam. Police reports had it recorded that Sam was shot in a robbery. Kate hoped the lawyers would have enough evidence for court. She wrapped up her notes, listening to Rick's voice coming from the break room. She couldn't hear what he said but he was on the phone to someone he liked a lot. He used the same tones when they were alone chatting.

With the paper work wrapped up, Beckett sat at the edge of her desk and stared at the driving license photo of Melanie she'd just taken from the white board. Castle rounded the corner, on the phone. She placed the photo in the evidence box.

"No, sweetie, I just wanted to make sure I said good night. … You got it. Strawberry happy face pancakes on me. Mwah. Later." He hung up the call then sat next to Beckett. She looked at him.

"Everything okay at home?" She asked.

"Alexis missed me."

"How did you know?"

"Spidey-sense."

Beckett said and sat back in her chair, "Hmm. By the way, it was my mother, not my father."

Castle didn't say a word and waited for her to continue. Every morning that they woke together, he saw her take the watch and the necklace from her jewelry box, but he'd decided to wait until she was ready to tell him about them.

Beckett said "We were supposed to go to dinner together, my Mom, my Dad, and I, and she was gonna meet us at the restaurant, but she never showed. Two hours later, we went home, and there was a detective waiting for us. Detective Raglin. They found her body. She had been stabbed."

"A robbery?" Castle softly asked, captivated by how young she sounded when she spoke.

Kate gave a small shake of her head. "No. She still had her money, and purse, and jewelry. And it wasn't a sexual assault, either. They attributed it to gang violence. Random wayward event. So, just like in Melanie's case, they couldn't think outside the box. So, they just tried to package it up nicely. And the killer was never caught."

"Why do you wear the watch?"

"My Dad took her death hard. He's sober now. Five years. So, this is for the life that I saved. And..." She reached inside her shirt and pulled out the necklace with the ring on it. "This is for the life that I lost." She forced a smile. "So, I guess your Nikki Heat has a back story now, Castle." She gave him a mild smile

Castle dwelled on that a second or so, kept it light, "I don't know, um..." He scratched his head, "I did kind of like the hooker by day cop by night thing. But, uh, I guess a heavy emotional angle could work, too." He smiled, glanced at the time and stood up.

Beckett said "Well, don't bewilder your audiences with substance on my account, Castle." She stood up to leave for the night.

Castle said, "Until tomorrow, Detective."

Kate stopped and turned back to him, "You can't just say 'night'?"

"I'm a writer. Night is boring. Until tomorrow is more hopeful."

Beckett said softly, "Yeah. Well, I'm a cop. Night." She walked towards the elevator pulling on her jacket.

He watched her walk away and out of ear shot of everyone he murmured, "Night, my love."

Esposito entered the archives room, followed by Castle who looked about the extensive area full of floor to ceiling metal shelving, most of which was full of numbered cardboard boxes.

Both of them serious and somber, Esposito led him past rack after rack of file boxes, until they came to a cross aisle a fair way from the entrance. He searched, reached up and pulled down a box. He opened it. After flipping the files, he pulled out one and handed it to Castle.

Esposito didn't let got of the file as he said "Remember, this never happened. I was never here."

Castle nodded just the once, "You have my word. Thanks."

Esposito cleared his throat then warned, "If you tell her I did this, I'll make you bleed."

Once again, Castle nodded and seriously replied, "Understood."

Esposito said, "Good luck." He left the writer alone. Before Rick started, he read a text that his phone had received during the walk to archives. It was Kate's response to his earlier text. They'd decided to spend the night together. She wanted him there with her tonight. It was the first time she asked him to keep her company. He wrote her back.

 _Ok. C u soon._

He the phone on the desk.

The name on the file read Johanna Beckett. Castle took a seat at a small reading desk as Esposito left. Lit by the light of the desk lamp, Castle stared down upon the closed case file very conscious he might be making a huge mistake. Can of worms came to mind. He took a deep breath, and opened it. He had about ten minutes to read the file before he had to leave to pick up take away dinner to eat at his girlfriend's home.

It was late when Kate secured her gun in the bedside drawer. She put her father's watch, and the necklace with her mother's ring into the jewelry box then closed its top. She touched the photo of her father and mother in happier times. She went to the bathroom to prepare for bed. Five or so minutes later she reappeared in pink pajamas and a light blue hoodie, her Police phone in her hand. She crawled over the bed to Rick who paused his reading, giving her a smile.

"Hey," he murmured, "You look cute."

"Thank you." She gave him a smile and a kiss. "We get to sleep in. Two days off."

"We do. Don't wake me." He said.

"I won't." She replied, "I'm thinking of growing out my hair again."

"Again? You had long hair?"

"Right down to my waist."

He looked over her face then at her little pony tail, "Grow out your hair." He requested, "I would love to see you with long hair."

Beckett sat at the head of the bed, close to Rick.

"I'll call my Dad," she said. "He just texted me."

"Mm." He rested his hand on her bare thigh and continued to read, as she picked up the phone and dialed.

Waiting for the call to connect she snuggled right in close to Rick. The call connected, "Hi Dad."

Rick slipped his arm behind Kate listening to her talk with her father. He closed his book, shifted a little against the headboard so he could accommodate her body. While she talked, he thought about the file he'd read before he'd come to her home. He thought about her scent that was pleasantly filling his senses. She always smelt nice, a combination of hair products, soap, deodorant, perfume and herself. She had an innate awareness of what products complimented her chemical make up. Nothing she wore was over powering. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder and saw her head shift enough to see his face and he heard the smile in her voice when she updated her father. His hand slipped around her right hip to her pubic mound. She swatted his hand but he stayed there.

The conversation with her father last about ten minutes. He relaxed, holding her. Listening to her converse with her dad was the same as he was with his daughter. When she hung up the call, she left her phone on the bed and curled up against Rick.

He stroked her back. "I'm proud of you," he said.

"Proud?"

"You followed that case to the end. You got justice."

"I have to."

"And I'm proud of you for that."

She smiled, kissed his cheek, "I'm tired."

"Let's sleep. How about we get in the car tomorrow and go somewhere for the day?"

"Mmm.. " She stroked his hair. "My Dad asked if I was seeing someone."

"Really. Why?"

"He said I sound happy."

"You are happy." He opened his arms out as Kate rose and lifted her leg over his body, facing him. She sat upon his pelvis.

With her hands in his hair she smiled, pressing her lips to the side of his head. "You make me happy." She whispered.

"Same goes." He muttered, starting to nibble at her shoulders, unable to resist her attention.

"Want you."

"Show me."

With his eyes closed he silently slipped his hand beneath her bed shorts, his middle finger down between her lips. She was moist. She quivered. He released a groan of content, recognizing his own lust in his tones. He felt her hand that softly rested on his shoulder, press on him a little harder. Unsure of whether she pressed him to stop or slide in further, he circled her being. She released a sigh, kissed the side of his mouth. Her mouth covered his, her fingers touched his chest. It was the slight tilt of her pelvis seconds later that gave him the sure answer. He slowly proceeded, the idea of toying with her somewhere appealed to him. She was way ahead of him with her arousal. Her hips rolled over his engorged organ, her chest pressed against him. Begging him, exhibiting her body to him, watching this woman seduce him was his most favorite activity. There was no mercy in her method. She might climb upon him like a cat wanting attention from its owner as she did now, or she would strut about in front of him giving off subtle signs she wanted him. By night fall his hunger to have her would be insatiable as it was now.

"Castle," she whispered, pleading.

"Thought you were tired."

She smirked, kissed him, whispered seductively, "Ricky."

His finger tip found what she wanted him to touch. A tiny knot of nerve endings no larger than her little finger nail. A spot that stimulated and ignited enough would have this woman writhing on the bed begging him not to stop.

She relaxed into his hold, spread her thighs, her ankles hooked over his thighs.

The silkiness of her folds aroused him.

He gasped, opening his eyes when her left hand molded to the shape of his hardened cock. She gave a little laugh.

"Want you. Now." She stated firmly.

"Yes, Beckett." He looked to his left to the pink chair nearby the bed. It had a pink cotton throw rug over it. Kate's gaze followed his. "Wanna move this party to the naughty chair?"

Kate bit her lip, contemplated. "Mm. I think it's time the chair got used again."

"Just make sure you're naked by the time you get to it."


	29. Chapter 29

_Thank you for your comments. This chapter goes into Always Buy Retail and yes, we've hit the Meredith part. Good fun to write this._

 **Chapter 29**

 **S1E06 – Always Buy Retail**

Castle reached out blindly to his phone that was shrilling loudly in the peacefully quiet and dark bedroom.

He rapidly swiped the screen to answer the call mumbling, "Hello?" He hoped like hell it wasn't Alexis and something bad had happened.

Beside him, Kate rolled her hips, and she buried her head beneath the bed sheets, growling something about going away. She really wasn't a morning person.

"Richard? It's Meredith."

Rick's eyes opened wide. He sat bolt upright.

 _What the hell was the time?_

 _It was dark outside._

"Why are you calling me so bloody early?" He hissed, glancing in Kate's direction, now really wanting her to sleep through this conversation. Beckett already had this sixth sense whenever he concealed stuff, and he knew she would be cranky about being woken to early. Then then he would have to face telling her the ex-wife had called him. As yet, he wasn't too sure how high Kate's jealously scale went and, quite frankly, didn't want to test it so early in their relationship.

"Because you're usually up with Alexis by now. Where are you? You're not answering the door. The doorman thought you were home," Meredith cheerfully said.

"I'm not home right now," he quietly replied. He rubbed his face, realised what she had said and asked, "You're in the city?"

"That's what I'm here to see you about." She paused, then cautiously added, "And I thought you might like to have sex with me once Alexis has left for school."

Rick coughed, shot his eyes to Beckett who remained buried under blankets. He flung back the sheets, scrambled out of bed and padded quickly to the en suite. Carefully he pushed the door to behind him. He didn't want Kate listening in on conversations about sex with his ex-wife.

"Richard? Are you there?"

"Yes. I'm here," he murmured, "Look, Meredith, we're divorced. You can't just be rocking up to my place for sex when you feel like it."

"Buh… We've had fun, haven't we?"

"Oh yeah. Can't deny that, but it's over. Been over a long time."

"Makes you wonder why we ever got divorced," she pondered aloud, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"I know, right?" He humoured and rolled his eyes. He then stared back at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. What he saw staring back at him with bright blue eyes, was a happy, content man. He looked tired and a little roughed up, needed a shower and shave, but he was happy. He was enjoying life. Apart from the day Alexis was born, he believed he was happier than he had ever been. Behind him and through the door way was the love of his life and the reason why he felt as he did. He'd known that since the second he'd clapped his eyes upon her. He wasn't going to ruin the relationship he was now a half of. Experience had taught him, and he now recognised a keeper. He would fight to the end to keep Kate, whereas his first wife had cheated on him.

Meredith made a sound that brought him back to the conversation.

He said, "We would have been fine. I mean, except for you having an affair with your director, moving to Malibu and serving me with divorce papers. I think we really had a chance," he expressed with a punch of sarcasm.

"I'm moving back." Meredith stated.

Rick sobered, "Back to New York?" He turned away from the mirror and rested his butt against the vanity, his head in his hand.

 _Could it get worse?_

His chest tightened. Meredith in the picture wouldn't sit well with Kate. Wouldn't sit well with his Mother. In fact, Alexis had problems when her mother was always about. Once again, he rubbed his face. The day was off to a bad start.

"Why on earth would you come back to New York?" He asked.

"I miss it." She paused, then said, "I miss the city, I miss Alexis, I miss you."

He clenched his eyes shut, thinking, processing this news, and rubbed the heel of his hand hard against his forehead. There was the thump of an oncoming headache. "Um, what about your career?"

"Oh, LA's changed. The juicy roles just aren't there for an actress of my calibre. I need a change, like Broadway maybe? The legitimate stage."

Eyes opened and he tilted his head back not able to believe the bullshit that came from her mouth sometimes. She hadn't caught a decent role in a long time. "Yeah well… ah… woah… time out Meredith. Have you really thought this through?"

"What's to think about? You, me, Alexis, all living in the same city. It's going to be just like old times."

"No, it won't be," he firmly replied, then said, "I'm seeing someone, Meredith. Alexis is dating and growing up too fast."

"Seeing someone?"

Rick gritted his teeth already regretting have said that. Meredith was inquisitive.

"Yes, kind of, but yes."

"Is it serious? Your?"

Rick swallowed, thinking about the woman sleeping in her room, "Umm… yeah. Yes, it is."

"Wow." She paused, "I can't wait to meet this woman. It's been a long time you've been single."

"I'm not single anymore." He had turned about and he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Yep, he was a content man.

"Okay, well, I'll take Alexis for breakfast."

"She has school, Meredith," he stressed, "Catch up with her for dinner tonight or after she's finished school," he suggested, aware Alexis would hit the roof if her mother did that. She could end up in Paris, like the last time she took her daughter for a meal. "Meredith, it's not even six am. Alexis will sleep another hour, so leave her be. You know she's not a morning person."

"Oh, alright. Well, I'll leave my suitcase here and I guess I'll come back later."

"No, take your luggage. You can't stay at my place. We're divorced, Meredith," he stated, making the decision he would rather be hard with her than cop Kate's reaction when she found out his ex-wife was staying at his place. "Meredith?"

"Yes, Richard?"

"You really cannot stay at my house. I have a girlfriend."

"Alright."

"I'll talk with Alexis about tonight and call you later." He hung up the call before she had a chance to persuade him into something else. He left the phone in the bathroom then quietly snuck back to bed. He felt chilly. When he covered his body in bed sheets he snuggled behind Beckett pulled her close to him. She was so warm.

"Who was that?" She sleepily asked. "You're cold."

"My ex wife. She's in town."

He instantly felt Kate's back stiffen and she brought her head out from under the blankets. "What the hell did she want this time of the morning?"

Rick looked over Kate's sleepy face, her ruffled dark hair, then pressed his finger lightly over the creases between her brow. Be honest. She wants honesty. "She was at the doorway to the loft."

"Mm? Why?"

"She was there to have sex with me."

"What?"

"Shhh… Its okay. I told her it's not on. She can't be doing that."

"Too right she can't," Kate grumbled, taking his hand in hers and holding it to her chest. "You're mine now." She added very possessively and unashamedly so. Rick grinned and impulsively pressed his lips to the side of her head.

"That's right," he affirmed, "She said she's moving back to New York."

"Will Alexis be happy about that?"

"Hell, no. I'm not either. My mother will despise even the thought of it."

"I'm not too keen about it either." Kate opened her eyes and turned to look at his face, "How we gonna keep this a secret if she is here?"

"I'll sort it out. Go back to sleep, or I will have to have my way with you."

Kate giggled, squeezed his hand, "I'll pick Option B, please."

He shifted going for her neck, "Option B it is. Good morning."

Laughing she rolled to her back as he urged her, wrapping her legs about him. "Good morning, Ricky."

"Good morning, Baby." He said getting himself over her. "So you're mine to be taken." He murmured, his face right over her, his eyes staring into her. Her fingers toughed his jaw. For several seconds she sleepily stared at him, before she gave a little nod.

"All yours, to be taken. All mine to be had."

"Fair enough." He whispered. "Deal."

..

"You sure you want to do this?" Rick inquired as they walked from the car into the yard of a disused warehouse. It was early morning and the day was still and dull. Clouds were hanging over them, threatening rain but so far not a drop had fallen from the sky.

"Yes. Best decoy having your wife on the scene for a while. Let everyone think that Meredith is orbiting you. No surprises. She's the mother of Alexis. And because she's an ex, everyone will keep quiet." Beckett replied, her voice neutral, the walk solid, businesslike.

"Alright, but you're gonna have to do some serious acting and I'm doing it ad lib. I want jealous. Subtle but enough."

"You'll be fine, Castle. Just be yourself. I can act jealous." She stepped inside the warehouse ahead of him, giving a nod to the uniform cop who was standing guard. Ahead of them, Esposito and Ryan were waiting for their arrival.

"What have we got boys?" She asked as she stepped close to the body of the male.

Esposito replied, "Vic's an African-American male, early twenties, multiple stab wounds, contusions on the arms and torso. Body was discovered by a homeless guy."

Beckett crouched over the body, studying it, "He was beaten, maybe tortured." She commented looking over to Ryan who nodded.

"Looks like some kind of ritualistic killing." Ryan commented and followed Kate's gaze as did Esposito. The writer was standing over the head of the body staring into space.

Beckett stood up, "You think? Hello." She waved at Rick.

"Hmmm?" He looked at Kate vacantly.

"You okay?" She asked seeing how distracted he was.

Rick breathed in, momentarily stared into space, then said quite casually, "I had sex with my ex-wife this morning. My first ex-wife, Meredith. Alexis's mom. And she's thinking about moving back to New York. Do you know what that would mean to me? That would be a very special brand of hell, the hell of a deep-fried Twinkie."

When he was done with his line, he looked at Kate whose eyes were as large as saucers. He wasn't sure if she was really jealous or acting but if she was acting she was doing a fine job.

"A deep-fried Twinkie?" Ryan said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, the guilty pleasure that you know is bad for you, so you only do it once, maybe twice a year for the novelty, but a deep-fried Twinkie every day is aghh…" He screwed up his face and pushed out his tongue in disgust.

"Castle," Beckett hissed.

"What?"

"Crime scene, dead body, a little respect here," she said through gritted teeth.

Rick shifted his eyes from Kate's face and gazed down upon the body of the male victim that was in a prone position, his mouth slightly ajar, eyes clouded over. "I don't think he can hear me, Beckett."

"Okay, but how about a little self-respect then?"

"Fine." He saw Ryan laugh like a schoolboy in class, wary the teacher would catch him out. Rick then gave a wave toward the dead man, "Check in his mouth, Kev, there is probably a little pouch in there."

"How did you know?" Beckett asked.

"Open it," Castle told Ryan who then reached out with a latex gloved index finger that pressed on the deceased's chin to open his mouth. They all leaned in with abated breath. They saw a cloth nested inside the deceased's mouth. He pulled out a white pouch.

"What does it mean, Castle?"

"It's Voodoo, Espo."

"Voodoo? What's that some kind of Star Trek thing?"

Ryan smirked glancing at his partner, "No dude, it's a religion practiced primarily in West Africa." He saw his partners expression, "What? I read too."

Castle continued, "The blood in the bowl, most likely animal, part of the ceremony. The pouch is an offering to the spirits, but I don't recognise the symbol." He pointed to the symbol that had been drawn on the concrete floor.

"If you did, you'd be a suspect. So how do you know about all this?" Esposito said.

"Research for my sixth Derrick Storm novel."

"Unholy Storm," Ryan chipped in.

"Yes, thank you." Castle acknowledged to Ryan, "And Voodoo is not just limited to West Africa, it's also practised by Haitian and Dominican communities right here in New York."

"Have CSU run the pouch, have an ME test the blood, and let's get his fingerprints in the system, see if there's an ID. This ritual I suppose it was done for a specific purpose?" Beckett stated.

"That's only if you are assuming that the guy doing this was rational," Esposito commented.

Castle said, "No, no, she's right. It might not make sense to you or me but ah… If we found out why he did this we might find your killer."

Sarcastically, Esposito said, "Yeah, it's kind of how we do it."

Beckett looked to Rick, "Do you still have the research?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Ok, let's wrap this up. We'll see you guys back at the precinct," Beckett said then turned to go. Rick stood there a moment staring at the body.

"Well, I've gotta say, my morning started off a lot better than this guy's day did." He grinned, an pleasant image of Beckett beneath him passing on through his conscious thoughts. "Man, it was a great morning." He chuckled, hearing the click of Beckett' heels on concrete fading.

"Deep fried Twinkie, huh? And here I was thinking you've been banging, Beckett." Esposito commented low enough to ensure Beckett didn't hear him. "I'm losing money on you two, Writer Boy."

Rick laughed, "Banging Beckett," he echoed and laughed good heartedly. He sobered, "I wish."

"Castle," Beckett called, pausing at the entrance to the warehouse.

All the men glanced over to the tall woman then returned to their conversation, closing in a bit tighter.

"You're already whipped by her," Esposito said which caused Rick to laugh again.

"You sure Beckett's okay with you sleeping with the ex?" Ryan asked. "I mean, she seemed a little rattled. You saw the look she gave you?"

"Yeah I did," Rick replied, "She's fine. She's not interested in sleeping with me. I'm too much of a man child for her."

"Castle," she called again, this time the impatience a lot clearer.

"Coming," he called back. He turned to Esposito and said, "I'll put in fifty that I won't get in her pants for at least four years."

"You're on," Esposito said.

"And guys, if Beckett finds out we've had this conversation-"

"She will shoot us." Ryan finished, "for certain."

"Boom." Rick exclaimed as he hurried after Beckett who was half way back to the Crown. Those legs certainly covered ground fast.

"Beckett. Wait up." He yelled after her, shifting into a jog to catch up.

He fell into the passenger seat, puffing and grinning like a kid. "Well, that went well." He shut the car door as Kate indicated out of the car space.

"It's a murder scene, Castle. Remember, homicide." She said once she was driving along the street, stuck behind a bus. "Gotta be respectful."

"Yeah, that too. And we're working on that. Going to my place?" He asked, slightly distracted because he was tapping texts on his phone.

"I guess so. Where did you get that from about your ex? Deep fried Twinkie. My God, Castle," she laughed.

"You were impressed huh?" He laughed.

"I can't believe you made that up."

"I'm a writer, Beckett, it's what I do. Make up stuff."

"But you relayed it so well."

"And you were jealous, right?"

"I pretended to be," she answered and touched his arm, "But if you go near the Deep Fried Twinkie –"

"I know, you have a gun."

"Yes, and I will cry for a week," she teased. "Possibly more."

"You will never have to worry about me cheating on you," he affirmed.

She glanced to him, unsure of what she should say in response. Then before she had a chance to dwell on his comment, his public persona of being a ladies man too much she said, "I will never cheat."

He reached out to her hand, pulled it to him and kissed her knuckles, "I want to kiss off your lipstick, not have you cry off your mascara." He let her hand go, then put away the phone and looked at her and the odd expression she wore. "What's up?" He looked ahead at the back of the bus.

She momentarily held her gaze on Rick, then returned to look out the front window. "Nothing." She bit her lip, processing what he'd said, "What colour lipstick do you like the most?" She asked.

Rick laughed. "Red. I really like red lipstick. You look nice in red too. And pale pink."

"Blue for you. Your eyes look bright when you wear blue."

..

"The purpose of the rituals was to make contact with the spirits and the spirit world, to gain their favour through sacrifice. Storm was pretty sure he'd sacrifice anything when he saw the amulet swaying back and forth between the woman's bare glistening breasts." Castle read as Kate approached him. He was seated at his office chair and Kate, who was bored out of her mind with his reading already, sat upon his right thigh, with the intention of distracting him from the novel. She had sat while he searched for old written notes, and now he was reading from a book.

She peered at the book cover, "Unholy Storm." She read then looked at his face, "You dragged me in here so you could read from your own book?" She was aghast.

"Hey," he defended, "There's a lot of good stuff in here. Some of it is factual." He shut the book and tossed it to his desk top then placed his palms on her thigh, gave her a little squeeze, "But I know you've already read it."

She gave him a cocky look, of denial, then stroked a finger down his jaw, his throat, "We could be doing something far more interesting." She seductively suggested, her fingers toying with the top button of his shirt.

He found he was fixated on her eyes. They were fractionally dilated. He swallowed, feeling a tightness in his jeans he really didn't need right now. "What are you doing, Kate?" He glanced down to her fingers.

"Sexually arousing you."

"It's working."

"Good." She abruptly replied, stood up and started to make her way out of the office to the living room.

"Where are you going?" He chased after her. She squealed and ran. He caught up and wrapped his arm about her waist, bringing her to a stop.

"I have a murder to solve, Castle." She giggled, struggling to escape him without success. He played hard and she retaliated but his core strength was far stronger than hers.

"I thought that's what we were doing?" He growled pulling her to him until her backside was pressed against his groin. "Your struggles to escape me are futile, Beckett."

"Castle!" She fought to turn about, grabbing his shirt to steady herself, and she ceased her fight to escape, now seemingly content in his arms. "You were reading your book. That's not investigating."

"Okay," he gave her a quick kiss, "Look, yes I was… I am just kidding with you and filling in time."

"We could have filled in time filling me," she offered and raised her right eyebrow her eyes darting in the direction of his bedroom.

"Funny," he said but gave her another kiss.

"Frustrating." She grumbled, chasing him for a further kiss.

He let her go, and glanced at his watch. "I do have another source," he said. Just running late as usual. "I had to take the opportunity to play you."

"And you call your ex-wife a deep-fried Twinkie," she teased.

"Oh, trust me. As annoying and intrusive as you think I am, she's a million times worse."

"What about Alexis? Maybe she misses her mom, maybe it'd be a good idea to have her back in town."

"Yeah, right. There was this time, when Alexis was nine, Meredith dropped by to take her out to lunch." He said.

"So?"

"In Paris." His eyes widened, Paris," he stressed.

Kate smiled, "Paris?"

"Yep. And then she acted like there was nothing wrong, like Auntie Mame on meth." He smirked in amusement at his own humour.

Kate furrowed her brow, "If she's so bad, then why did you sleep with her this morning?"

"I didn't sleep with her this morning." He replied giving her a strange look. "I laid you this morning, and last night."

She tissed. "I know that. You slept with me. But let's pretend like we did before, and say hypothetically, you slept with her this morning."

"I slept with you. Is this a trick?"

"Castle."

"Ok. Hypothetically I slept with my ex," he agreed and then got right into it. "And let me tell you something about crazy people."

She grinned enjoying the writer's imagination. She urged, "Tell me."

His eyes widened, "The sex is unbelievable," he shared like it was a secret.

"How shallow are you?" She stepped back.

"Very." He impressed upon her.

"You know, I don't have time for this. We can screw around later," Beckett said, heading towards the front door. "We have a murder."

"You did trick me. Played me so you can escape the house." He hurried after her, hearing her laughter as she rushed at the entrance.

"No. Unlike you Ricky, I've gotta work." She replied, reached for the handle and flung open the front door.

An African-American woman stood at the entrance her hand raised as though she was about to knock. Startled, Kate jumped in surprise.

"Someone order lunch?" The woman asked.

Rick stepped in, his hands to Beckett's upper arms, "Detective Beckett, meet my other source, Michelle. She also brought us lunch."

"Hi." Kate stepped backwards into Rick who steadied her.

"Hi. I'm Michelle."

"Kate."

"Come on in Michelle. Kate and I were just discussing sex with crazy people."

"Sex with crazy people is awesome." Michelle said. "Are you thinking about trying it?" She asked Kate, not batting an eyelid.

"Umm." Kate blinked as rapidly as her heart suddenly did but she thought fast and replied, "I already have a crazy partner." Her head was spinning and she felt Rick squeeze her upper arms and laugh.

"Who on earth would that be, Beckett?" Rick inquired.

"No one you know," Kate answered.

"Crazy ones do the most spontaneous things." Michelle said as she carried the food bags to the kitchen counter. Rick shut the front door, then gently coerced Kate to the kitchen bench prying the car keys from her hand.

"Give them back, Castle."

"No. Your lunch is here."

Kate glanced at the food being opened by Michelle.

"It smells great, huh?" He was amused no end by her playful mood but her appetite was overriding all other plans. He held the keys above his head, resistant to her attempts of tickling the keys from him but she had paused. Seconds later she strained to reach the keys.

"Yes. Smells delicious, but I need to leave."

"Beckett," he insisted seriously, "Take a seat. We have the voodoo expert here."

"Are you always like this with women?" Michelle asked.

"Of course."

"Yes." Kate replied, "Annoyingly so."

"You seem like you love." Michelle commented, "Stay Kate. I have plenty of food her for us.'

Kate stopped, Rick gathered her up in his hold and escorted her to the kitchen counter where the food containers were opened. She sat on a stool, suddenly starved for food.

"The symbols are Vévé, a representation of one who can open cross roads in to the spirit world." Michelle explained looking through the evidence photographs.

"Michelle taught me everything I know about Voodoo," Castle said while he ate.

"Which obviously isn't much," Michelle commented between mouthfuls then added, "That scene with the topless girl and the chicken blood, what was that?"

"I took a few liberties," Castle confessed.

"You know from the design, I'd say this isn't Haitian, Jamaican or Dominican; this is hard-core Nigerian." Michelle pointed at a photo.

Beckett asked, "What about this charm?"

"The charm's an offering to a Voodoo saint or loa, in this case it's Ogun. He's usually called up to find something that is lost."

"So our killer's looking for something," Rick suggested.

"Something the victim once possessed," Michelle replied.

"Maybe that's why he was tortured? Could the kind of ceremony indicate what the killer was looking for?" Beckett asked then took a mouthful of her lunch.

"Unfortunately, no."

Beckett asked, "How do you know so much about this?"

"Because I practice. My junior year I spent abroad in Nigeria. Fell in love with the religion, the cuisine—"

"Michelle owns the best Nigerian restaurant in the city." Castle informed Beckett.

Beckett said, "It's funny, I never would have pegged you for the occult type."

"Occult is in the eye of the beholder, Detective. As bizarre as Voodoo may seem to you, I assure you the beliefs of western religions seem just as strange to outsiders. How do you like the cow's foot stew?"

Beckett peered down at the bowl of stew which was delicious but now she was a little put off, "Cow's foot?" She glared at Rick, "You said it was beef."

Castle gave a nod and replied, "Technically cow is beef. Besides you liked it."

"So, this murder is that a part of the ceremony as well?" Kate asked dismissing the food.

"No. Voodoo is a peaceful deeply spiritual religion practiced by millions of people across the world every day."

Beckett commented, "I doubt whoever did this is very peaceful."

"No. Your killer may be voodoo, but that's not why this man's dead. He was killed because he has something the killer desperately wants. And he's not going to stop until he finds it."

Beckett's cell phone rang out. She said, to her company as she got up, "Excuse me." She walked from the table, "Beckett."

Ryan said, "Yeah, it's Ryan. We got another one."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Castle stood at the white board. He'd just finished writing the second victim's name, Darcy Cho, at the top of the board with a red maker. He underlined it twice for good measure then held out his hand, reaching to Kate's fingers as she handed him two photographs. He scanned each photo, the first one of Darcy's NY State vehicular licence, a few years old, and the other of her lying prone and dead, a few hours old. He hung them below her name. Underneath the live photo he wrote that she was a lawyer.

"Shall I write the details, Beckett?"

"Nope." She quickly replied, as she lowered her frame onto the chair. "Same as the first victim. Will save space and your fingers getting cramped up."

"True. Oh, nice reference, Beckett." He smirked recollecting the moments when he'd told her if she didn't climax soon his fingers were gonna cramp. With a glance he saw her cheeks blush.

"You liked my quick wit?"

"Yes, but you're stretching the truth there." He stood back and gazed at his work.

"Creative licence," she coyly replied.

"Smart ass." He said, "Wonder what Ryan and Espo will find out. I truly doubt these two victims knew each other leave alone crossed paths."

A phone on Kate's desk beeped. She peered over the gathering of coffee cups to see it was Rick's phone that lit up. She picked it up and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He unlocked and read the text his forehead creasing. "Fuck it." He muttered, then realised where he was and mischievously glanced about to ensure no one had heard him curse.

Kate smirked, "Put money in the swear jar."

"I owe that jar plenty."

"No doubt you do. What is it?" Kate asked, seeing he had a concerned look.

"Meredith has taken Alexis out of school."

"Meredith took her out of school?"

"Mm. Alexis has a calculus exam this afternoon. She's not impressed."

"I wouldn't be either, if she were my child."

"Oh yeah, Meredith can be a piece of work. Thankfully I have my daughter's passport locked away. At least this time, Alexis will be in the country tonight." He tapped out a reply and seconds later received another text from his daughter that caused him to swear again.

"What?" Kate asked stretching to see his phone screen.

"Meredith told the principal that her father had passed away to get Alexis out of school. Her father died years ago."

The detective's eyebrows rose, "She really is a deep fried twinkie."

"In many ways, Detective, in so many ways," he replied with a frown. "Nothing like you." He added and smiled.

Kate stared at him for a moment longer, processing that comment. They looked up as Ryan and Esposito returned to the bullpen making a racket about a game they watched together on TV last night. Castle wore the same disinterested expression as Beckett, not at all interested in ball games. They had discovered the other day however, they both shared a keenness for ice hockey.

"What did you learn, guys?" Beckett asked as they dragged their office chairs over to Beckett's desk.

"Well, Jill Button from the law firm didn't have a clue why Darcy would be murdered," Ryan advised his audience of three, "Said It doesn't make sense why would someone kill her."

Esposito continued, "The two women joined the firm at the same time, and became best friends." He got up and went back to his desk the others all watching him.

Ryan drew back their attention and said, "She didn't recognise the other victim at all. Had no idea who he was. She said she's pretty familiar with all of Darcy's friends and clients, but she's never seen the victim before. Law firm does some corporate stuff, some immigration work; but there is nothing to indicate any involvement in something like this."

The Captain who came from his office said, "So our first victim gets killed in a religious ritual and then history repeats itself with his lawyer the very same day."

Castle said, "Oh, there's a lawyer joke there somewhere. I just can't think of it."

Montgomery smirked with Castle then continued with the history of the file, "And then the killer tossed the woman's apartment looking for what? Money, drugs, what?"

Ryan said, "As far as we could tell, Darcy was clean."

Esposito interrupted as he returned to the group, "Yo. We got a hit on the first victim's prints. INS database "

Beckett read Espo's hand writing aloud, "Jamal Buoncy."

Esposito said, "Nigerian national, entered the US on a student visa eighteen months ago. Was enrolled at NYU as an exchange student."

Beckett said, "His visa expired a year ago."

Castle said, "Looks like he decided to stay."

Ryan said, "Lucky him."

Captain asked Esposito, "Any word on his last known whereabouts?"

Esposito replied, "I was able to track down the family he lived with when he was a student. Last time they saw him, he was in a cab on his way to Kennedy."

"I take it that's not the end of the story?"

Esposito said, "No Beckett, it's not. Turns out that Jamal and their thirteen year-old son were pretty close. A couple of months ago, the folks discovered that they were still in touch. Jamal's cell phone number billed to an address on East Third."

"That's just a few blocks from where Jamal's body was found," Castle said, glancing to Captain Montgomery who'd decided to join the group.

Ryan said, "East Third is right near Darcy Cho's law firm."

"And you said Darcy Cho's firm did some work on immigration?" The Captain inquired walking into the circle the group had formed. .

Ryan said, "Yeah."

Montgomery said, "You and Esposito take a ride down there, and I want you to look at Darcy Cho's client list. Maybe Jamal used another name."

Beckett said, "We'll get a warrant for the billing address."

"Find out what this guy wants before this son of a bitch kills again, all right?"

Beckett replied, "Yes Sir."

They were gone maybe forty minutes all up, when Beckett and Castle took a drive to Jamal Buoncy's last known residential address. It turned out to be worthwhile trip. They found the same type of flannel sheet and candles hidden under a bed. It lead to the arrest of a male named Azi for questioning. By the time the uniforms had Azi back at the Precinct for interrogation, the afternoon was getting old, creeping into evening.

Azi turned out to be a dead end again, but he did drop a name of an individual named Charles Oni, who had illegal and legal immigrants in the city running scared. He owned a store on Canal Street, and had immigrants working there for him. According to Azi, Charles Oni was looking for something he claimed Jamal had stolen. Oni had failed to tell Azi what it was that had allegedly been taken.

They let Azi go, satisfied he had nothing to do with the murder.

After completing paperwork and taking a quick break, Beckett was back at work investigating who Charles Oni was when he wasn't at home. She couldn't find much.

Beckett said to Castle, "City records show no vendor's licence for Charles Oni on Canal Street."

"Well, the guys exploiting illegals. I doubt he's going to use his own name."

Beckett said, "Clearly not. The apartment is owned by a Robert Burnett. No listing in the Tri State area, and the address is a PO box in Jersey. It's like every path I take goes nowhere, Castle."

"Something will pop," he reassured.

Esposito came from his desk. "Yo. Law firm's a dead end. They've never heard of anyone named Jamal Buoncy. And there was nothing suspicious in Darcy's client list."

Castle said, "That's perfect, because our suspect has never heard of Darcy Cho. We still have no idea what our two victims have in common."

"No, I'm not going to wait downstairs." A woman objected loudly, causing everyone in the bull pen to pause and look at each other. Rick immediately cringed. Beckett's curiosity soured when she saw Rick's reaction. She listening to the stranger's voice.

It was loud and clearly projected, "Do you have any idea who pays your salary?" There was a pregnant pause. "Me and my taxes."

Kate's eyes widened with speculation, especially when she saw Rick shrinking into his chair. She pointed in the direction the voice came from. "Is that-?"

Castle nodded and muttered, "Ah yep."

Meredith called, waving her hand to gain his attention, "Richard? Over here!"

Esposito joined the group, saw Rick's exasperated expression, "Deep-fried Twinkie?"

"Afraid so," Rick replied and reluctantly stood up off his chair. He tidied his clothes then stepped forward to greet his ex-wife and their daughter. "Meredith, what a surprise."

"I know, isn't it great? In LA, no one ever just stops by, don't you just love this town?" Meredith asked looking directly at Beckett, clearly taking in Kate from the dark hair on the top of her head to the leather boots she stood in.

Beckett gloated, loving how much Rick was suffering as she said, "More and more by the minute." She also hadn't missed Meredith's detailed inspection and shot it straight back. Meredith looked away. Meredith was as tall but older than Kate by about five or so year. She was slender, bordered on being underweight, like she hadn't eaten in days. Actress.

Castle saw the physical exchange between the women and chose to ignore it. "Ah, Meredith, these are Detectives Ryan, Esposito and, Detective Beckett." He hadn't intended to place emphasis on Beckett, but that's certainly how it had sounded. He prayed no one would take any notice.

"Oh, Beckett, your new muse." Meredith said to Rick but her eyes remained on Beckett as she added, "Alexis told me all about it. And I simply had to stop by." Her tone was chirpy, her mannerisms bordered on being intrusive and nosy. "You know I was his inspiration once?" She asked Beckett.

Beckett glanced at Rick who maintained a neutral expression, then looked at Meredith, "Were you now?"

"Still am, from time to time, right, Kitten?" Meredith cooed.

Beckett mumbled, "Kitten?"

Castle wanted the floor beneath him to fall away, "I had this dream once, only I was naked and far less embarrassed."

Meredith said, "Anyway, we were in the neighbourhood, and I have a dinner tonight so I thought I'd drop Alexis here instead of schlepping all the way downtown." She explained as she gazed over the murder board that was quite busy with information. Her eyes fell upon a photo of something she recognised, "Is that SJP's purse?"

Esposito eyes followed Meredith's, "SJP?"

Meredith pointed at the photo of the purse, "Sarah Jessica Parker. She carried one just like it to the Armani show on the lawn, it was on Fashion Scoop Daily last week."

"Well, actually this purse belongs to one of our victims," Beckett replied trying hard to see what Meredith apparently did.

"Oh, that is so tragic," Meredith remarked, "More tragic of course if it had been the real thing, but still."

"Are you saying this one is fake?" Esposito glanced to the others, wondering if they were thinking what he was.

Meredith pointed at the picture, "Well, look at the leather and the stitching," she ran her finger along the picture of the stitching, "It's totally a knock off. I mean, it's good enough to fool the untrained shopper, but I have a retail eye."

Beckett's face lit up, "Canal Street."

Ryan smiled at Beckett, "Canal is where they sell all the knock-off watches, luggage."

"And handbags," Castle added.

"Darcy's office is right near Canal. If she was going to buy a designer knock-off—"

"You're right, Ryan," Castle said, "She might have got it on the stall where Jamal works."

"Oni's stall." Beckett said, "That's what connects our two victims." Kate looked over the photos, ending on the one of Azi, "Guys, get Azi back and get a sketch from him, maybe one of the other vendors will be able to ID Oni's stall."

Esposito said, "You got it, boss."

Meredith smiled at her ex-husband, "See, I always was your lucky charm. Just think of the things we'll do once I move back."

Castle said, "Ha ha ha ha." He stood up and stepped towards Alexis. "Let's go home."

"Great idea." Alexis replied her expression told him she was seeking refuge from her mother.

Ricked turned about to the Detectives. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Kate wriggled her fingers waving him goodbye as the guys waved their farewells. The two women left with Castle.

That evening, Castle quietly relaxed on Kate's couch with a glass of wine sourced from the bottles they had bought when they went away, which Kate thought was unusual for him. Unusual of him to be quiet that was. It was like he was lost in his own thoughts.

Perhaps his writer's imagination had him on an internal journey to an alternative universe somewhere. It was also possible he was hiding out at her place to avoid Meredith. He had unexpectedly knocked on Kate's door earlier with an overnight bag over his shoulder and grocery bags carried in his arms. What was left of the food was spread out over the kitchen counter. He had nominated to cook dinner and had chosen steak and steamed vegetables. It had been a delicious meal. He was a little thirsty too with the wine tonight. They were on their second bottle. She cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dish washer, while he had a break.

When she was done in the kitchen she joined him on the couch with a bowl of crisps. Using the remote, he flicked on the TV to watch the cop show she really enjoyed. She was aware his eyes surveyed her bare legs as she crossed the living area. She plonked down beside him folding her legs on the seat. She was glad he was there tonight. He had planned to remain at home but had changed his mind. Alexis was studying for the exam she had to do the following day, and Martha was at the loft. She placed a hand on his large firm thigh and held the bowl of chips towards him.

"You're awfully quiet, Castle."

He grabbed a few chips and said. "Thinking."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Rick shrugged his shoulders, "When I took Alexis home?"

"Mm."

"My mother bailed me up."

"And that is odd how?"

"True." He smirked, "How fast you figured her out."

"No brainer really," she said with a laugh.

"Well, she had to bring up Meredith, you know, kidnapping Alexis and taking her out of school."

Kate smirked this time, dipping her hand in the chips. "Kidnapping? She is Alexis' mother."

"I know. The red hair kind of gives it away."

"Mm. A lot of that in your family."

"Yes, one of the things I admire about you is your complexion. Nice change."

Kate laughed. "I could always dye my hair."

He smirked, "No. I like it just the way it is."

"What did Martha say?" She asked as she stretched out to the coffee table to set her drink down.

"In her dramatic manner, that it was outrageous," he said, "Then I had to go and remind her about how I nearly failed fifth grade because my mother was in the touring production of a Chorus Line?" He gave her leg a soft rub. "They're actors, both of them, and the same. They despise each other. Alexis must have told her that Meredith is going to live in New York. That is dramatically threatening the Martha Rogers show too. Real actors."

"Castle?" She vacantly said, playing with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Mm?"

She looked over his face before she carefully asked, "Will it affect us, Meredith living here?"

In surprise, he asked, "Why would it?"

"I don't know. We're so new." She felt awkward asking but she was thinking about whether Meredith being around more would have an impact on her relationship with Castle's daughter. Castle and Alexis were very tight and she understood that she would most likely always walk a fine line with Alexis.

"That doesn't matter. I care about you a helluva lot more than Meredith." He said and placed his hand on her knee.

She looked down at his large hand on her. "I guess Alexis will get to see her mother more."

"True, but that will wear off fast." He unconsciously played with her knee. "I also told Meredith this morning I couldn't have sex with her because I was seeing a girl."

"Oh."

"She mentioned that to Alexis, tried to pry information out of her."

"Oh. And?"

"Alexis wants to know who I'm dating, but before I responded, I reminded her of the deal we struck some time ago."

"Deal?"

"Mm. She's getting to that age when she wants her privacy so it goes both ways."

"Fair enough." Kate responded, paused, then asked, "Should we tell Alexis about us?"

"We will in time. She is accustomed to me dating because I've been single longer than married, and she is not interested in poking around like my mother is. It disgusts my daughter that her father still has sex."

Kate smirked, "I can relate to that. But your mom is onto us." Kate passed him the bowl and reached for her wine.

His hand over her knee felt nice. His hand stroking unconsciously along the inside of her thigh was arousing. He did it while he talked, sometimes squeezing his fingers lightly on the supple flesh or her knee cap. He had no idea how much it was turning her on. He had the hands of a man who didn't use tools but he was strong and used his strength when he needed to. Like when he picked her up. His fingers were well padded, smooth and warm.

"She's certainly on to us." He quietly said, looking down at his own hand on her fair skin, "She is encouraging me to pursue you but hinting she knows it's you I'm staying with. She's stabbing in the dark but perhaps she hopes it's you. She says I need a strong independent woman."

"I'm not that independent." She lightly objected.

"You are extremely independent, but don't change how you need me." He set the bowl down on the table no longer interested in the crisps. "C'mere." He patted her right thigh.

She looked at him, smiled, took another mouthful of wine and put the glass back on the table. She then got up on her knees, placed her hands to his shoulders and stretched her right leg over his lap. Facing him she sunk herself astride pressing her groin against his.

He growled at her taunting grin. "Babe," he moved and when her hands went about his head, he tilted his head up and kissed the woman.

"I wanna keep us a secret a while longer," Kate said moments later.

Rick gave a nod, "Me too." He watched as she sat back, their fingers weaving together, both hands. "I would also love to be able to take you out on dates."

She smiled, "But you do already."

"How so?"

"Spontaneous lunches, breakfasts. You take me to some of the best tucked away eateries in New York, Castle."

"Those croissants were the best ever."

"They were great." She waved their hands slowly from side to side, measuring how long her arms were against his. She could extend almost as far as he was able to. "I would like to hold your hand in public." She murmured.

"Have our photo in the Ledger together." He brought their arms back to him and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist.

"Arr yeah, not so keen about that."

"You love your photo being taken. Quite the little model." He replied seriously but then smiled and squeezed her right hand.

She smirked, thinking about how much she did love modelling. "My mom loved taking photos of me. The cabin my Dad has at the lake, is full of photos of us as a family."

"I like to take photos," Rick said. "Next time we go away I will bring my camera too."

"Instead of turning mine on me." She teased, reminding him of how much he'd used her camera in LA. "Like a gun," she said struggling to hold in a yawn.

"You loved it. You're tired."

"Mm." She combed her fingers through his hair. "Are you staying tonight?"

He glanced at his watch. "Mm. Its late. Shall we turn in?"

Kate gave a nod. "Finish the wine, then yes."

"Once we have the warrant we'll be on Canal St early."

"Yes. So to the precinct first." She climbed off his lap and flopped her body to the couch, "You have fresh clothes. I washed your shirt and underclothes with my stuff. I hope that …."

Rick smiled, leaned over and placed his thumb softly over her lips hushing her. "Thank you. I will now have clean clothes for tomorrow."

"It needs to be pressed." She mumbled then smiled. "Like me."

"Well then, Beckett, drink your wine. We're going to bed."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

CANAL STREET

The team arranged by text messages to meet on Canal Street once they had an executed warrant to search Charles Oni's retail shop. Surprisingly, the shop was shut, the roller door down, during standard retail hours. Bolt cutters were used to break the padlocks.

They lifted the roller door high enough to step inside the shop only to find someone had been there before them. Bags and items were scattered everywhere. It certainly didn't represent a retail shop.

"Which one is it? This place has been trashed." Esposito said.

Beckett who searched about the store found a brown bag she picked up. There were heaps of them. She said, "You guys. Look, same Chanel bags."

Castle picked up a bag the same as the one Kate had, saw it had the same tear on its side. He said, "That's weird, shredded like our victim's purse."

Ryan suggested, "Maybe Darcy wasn't using it to defend herself."

Esposito said, "Beckett." He pointed at a symbol crudely painted on the concrete floor of the shop. They gathered around and stared at the floor.

Beckett said, "This one looks different. It doesn't look like the ones we found in the other victims' mouths."

Castle said, "I've seen this symbol before. It's the symbol for death."

"Why would a guy mark his own stall with the death symbol?" Ryan asked.

Castle said, "He wouldn't; this symbol was meant for him. Charles Oni has been marked for death."

Beckett who had resumed her focus on the bags laying about on the floor, said, "The linings have all been cut out. All of this stuff is imported, right?"

Esposito said, "Yeah."

Beckett put her hands to her hips, thinking this out, "You know, knock-offs would be a perfect delivery system for a smuggler."

Ryan replied, "Yeah, but what are they smuggling?"

Beckett said, "The only person who can tell us that has been marked for death."

Esposito said, "Well, if he is still alive, he doesn't have much incentive to stick around."

Beckett, Ryan and Esposito watched Rick as he walked out of the shop. He made a beeline to the other side of the road barely conscious he risked being hit by approaching vehicles.

Beckett called, "Castle?"

He kept going. Ryan asked, "Where's he going?"

Beckett started to follow Castle but paused and said to the boys, "Notify passport control. Get them a sketch of Oni and get them to put his name and aliases on the no fly list."

Esposito nodded and said, "You got it boss."

Beckett turned and hurried after Castle who seemed to be onto something or was totally losing it. She called after him several times and caught up with him on the opposite side walk, where he was staring into an electronics stop window, seemingly at a flat screen television.

Castle pointed at the TV and exclaimed, "I'm on TV."

Beckett stared at him, a little worried, a bit amused, but mostly impatient about what was going on with him. "Are you having a breakdown?"

"Not a breakdown," he replied, "A breakthrough. And I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?"

Beckett sighed heavily, briefly wondering how the how the hell she could have fallen so heavily for such a man child. She replied, "I'm waiting for the breakthrough."

Castle waved at the screen, "Look behind me. If that camera's recording…"

Beckett peered at the screen, then looked behind them, "Then we'll be able to see who trashed the stall."

They promptly marched into the electronics shop which was full of equipment from ceiling to floor and in between all that. It was a small joint, but the owner packed it with merchandise.

"What can I say?" The store owner replied minutes later after listening to the detective and writer explain what they wanted. "People like to see themselves on television. I mean, you would not believe the things people do in front of a camera."

Castle keenly replied, "I'm listening." Kate shot him a look that he chose to ignore.

The owner continued, "Like this one chick, she's standing there right in front of the store and she starts to take off her, ah…"

"Just show us the recordings from the past couple of days, OK?" Beckett demanded.

Castle cautiously said, "Her blood sugar gets low, she gets a little cranky."

Beckett said between gritted teeth, "Zip it, Kitten."

"I'm sorry, but I can't show you the recording." The owner said mainly to Beckett, but feeling nervous he looked at Castle, the softer option.

Beckett asked, "You need a warrant?"

"Wouldn't help." The owner replied, "I sold it."

Castle asked, "Sold the camera in the window?"

He gave a nod, "Yeah, some guy rolls in here yesterday asks for that one specifically. I told him we've got other ones with boxes, but he wants the one in the window."

"What did he look like?" Beckett asked.

"Six foot, big, black had an accent."

Beckett unfolded a sheet of paper and held it out for the owner to see. "Was it him?"

He studied the sketch, then shook his head, "No, he owns the stall across the street."

"You know him?" Castle asked pointing at the sketch.

"We say hi. But this guy, he seemed, ah, heavy, not in the physical sense, just something about him, you know. Like he'd seen things. Bad things."

"What else?" Beckett asked.

"He paid cash, retail. I mean at my prices. He didn't even try to negotiate once."

"Would you be willing to work with a police sketch artist?"

"Wouldn't a real picture be better?" He asked.

Beckett replied, "You said that he took the camera and the recordings."

"Lady, this is an electronics store." The owner stressed, "I got cameras all over this place."

"We'll take what you have." Castle replied.

"Give me five. I'll transfer all the footage of have of him to a USB and you can take it with you."

"Thanks." Beckett said. She looked at Rick once the guy had disappeared out the back of the shop.

Castle said quietly to Beckett, "What I don't get is, why would he want the camera?"

"Cause he had the same idea we did." Kate replied.

"We want the camera because we want to find him."

"What was he looking for?" She asked, "In the bags, obviously."

"That we are still to find out."

The team lucked out that afternoon when customs arrested Charles Oni who was scheduled to fly out the country. Oni was brought into the Precinct by uniformed officers and put in the box for questioning. Becket and Castle spent about ten minutes with him. They quickly established he was scared of someone and using his sick mother in his home country as an excuse to escape the USA.

Once they clarified with Oni that he was a target to be killed, he decided it was in his better interest to talk with the police. Oni gave a name.

Back in the bull pen, Esposito and Ryan approached Castle, Beckett and Motgomery who stood by the white board sorting out the latest information.

"Who's he?" Esposito asked pointing at the photo in Beckett's hand.

"His name is Muhkta Baylor." Beckett replied as she slapped a photograph up on the murder board. "In Oni's words he's very bad, very dangerous. He is a former child soldier."

"They call him the Butcher of Benin." Castle finished, passing Kate a white board marker so she could write the man's name beneath his picture.

Beckett said, "He traffics drugs, women, whatever will make him money."

"Oni said its Baylor him that killed Jamal and the Darcy Cho." Rick said.

"Oni's a counterfeiter." Beckett stated.

Castle said, "And he gets papers for illegals - passports, visas whatever they need. A real friend to the community."

Esposito said, "We also just got it out of Oni that he also provided Baylor with documents for his traffickers."

"Sown inside the lining of his purses?" Montgomery asked.

Esposito said, "Yeah, which he keeps in the baggage stall."

Ryan said, "Yeah, only he didn't count on Fashion Scoop Daily."

"The website?"

Ryan replied, "Yes, Cap. The article on Sarah Jessica Parker. Appears there was a run on the purses.

Esposito said, "Yeah. Our first vic Jamal?

"Yeah?"

Esposito nodded at the Captain, "Yeah. He sold bags out front, he didn't know about Oni's scam. When he ran out of bags, he sold the ones from the back.

"Why didn't he just get on and forge more documents?" The Captain inquired.

Castle said, "It takes time, and Baylor doesn't have time.

"Papers are for Baylor's brother in Africa. The Nigerian officials are closing in on him for drug trafficking. If Baylor doesn't get him to the US soon, they'll execute him." Beckett said.

Castle said, "Oni says Baylor operates out of a warehouse downtown."

"Listen, find this dirt ball before he murders someone else, all right? Get a team together and see if you can't haul is ass back her." Montgomery ordered.

"Yes, Sir." They all responded in unison and jumped into it to organise a team.

The raid at the Baylor's warehouse didn't harvest much for the NYPD group. They packed up swiftly and opted to return to the Precinct where they could gather their intel and redirect the investigation.

Once they were in the car and on the road, Rick had it summed up that Beckett was somewhat pissed off at him. She had that ability to not say a word yet convey her message quite clearly to him. The option to remain quiet until she processed it out of her mind was Rick's preferred state of game.

As she drove the block before she was to turn right, she asked, "Where did you get the vest from and when?"

He casually replied, "Like I said before, I got it special order online."

Beckett mumbled, "Writer."

Castle said, "Ah ha, cool huh?

Beckett said, "No, No!"

"You used an exclamation mark," he shot back.

"Well, it's not cool. Like I said earlier, you don't need a vest."

"And, as I said," Castle retaliated, "If you shoot me, do I not bleed?"

"If I shoot you?"

"Well?" He shrugged his shoulders, "But not you in this instance."

"You are not going to get shot because I won't put you in the firing line. I signed an agreement to protect you, Rick."

"Rip it up. I'll rip it up."

"Your lawyer has an original."

"Under freedom of information I will collect it and rip it up.".

"You just won't follow us into a raid again."

"You're pissed off because my ex-wife called me," he stated.

There was a pregnant pause. Only the sound of the engine was heard.

"What? No." Kate hotly objected then bit her lip. He was damn right about that but she wasn't gonna let him know.

Castle watched Kate go through a serious of physical responses as a result of his accusation, partially amused but mostly regretful he'd pulled her up on it. She was jealous. There was no denying it.

"What was she calling about?" She asked with a good dose of nonchalance.

"She called me from the house so I thought it was Alexis. What's wrong?" He asked noting the change in her expression.

"She was at the loft?"

"Seems so."

"Rick. Alexis is at school and your wife is in your house? What if she snoops and finds my stuff?"

"You didn't write your name on anything."

"Okay. True. I will relax."

"Yes, you need to relax," he agreed. "She's in my home, but I'm here. With you."

Kate nodded and gave him a wee smile.

"I will tell the doorman not to let her in my place in future," he assured and glanced to his phone when it began to vibrate with an incoming call. It was his house phone calling again. Alexis would still be in school and she would text him before using the landline.

Castle muttered, "Meredith."

"Again?"

"Mm. Well, she said she's found an apartment to buy and might need me to co-sign a loan." He held up his hand to silence her when he sae Kate's jaw fall open, "I'm not going to cosign a loan for her, don't worry about that. Then I saw the guy in the SUV."

"We wanted details, Castle." She grimly stated.

"Yeah, I knew this was gonna bite me on the ass."

Beckett burst into giggles, "Castle, what did you expect from the guys when you didn't get the plate or at the basics, the model of the vehicle?

Castle said, "Ah there was a matter of being asked to co-sign a loan for one point six million that had me distracted. I have a chance of a future with you, so don't you think it weighed on me?"

"It's weighing on me that your ex-wife, the deep fried twinkie, who wants to have sex with you is at your home."

"She'll leave once my mother gets home."

"Martha doesn't like her?"

"No love lost there. My mother favours you."

"She hardly knows me."

"Oh, she has your number. She says I'm wasting my time with the floozies I date and that I should be asking you out." He paused and looked out the window. "I would like to take you out for dinner, have you dress up in something pretty, me pick you up, show you a good time."

"What year are you in, Castle?" She laughed. "Do you date floozies?" She teased.

He chuckled, "No. I'm raising a daughter. I was always at home for her. Alexis knows I've dated but not much." He fished about in the console and brought out a bag of candy, read the labels. "Pineapples. Care for one?"

"Australian lollies again?" She smiled. "Lollies."

"Yes, pineapples. I guess lollies is short for lollypops. You liked these in the party mix."

"We have to replenish soon." Kate accepted a few pineapples from Rick. When her police phone beeped, Rick picked it up, unlocked it.

"Ryan says they have the video of the store, and wants to know the colour of the SUV. Screw you Ryan." He mumbled.

She laughed. "You know they're going to give you shit about that for days."

"I deserve it."


	32. Chapter 32

_This is a short chapter to wrap up the episode._

 **Chapter 32**

When the video taken from the electronics store was scrubbed, the team learned that Jamal was at the shop, that Darcy Cho had bought a knock off bag, and that most importantly, a second woman had purchased a face SJP Chanel bag from Jamal within a short time frame. The woman was unidentifiable but for a yoga mat and a take away coffee cup from Java Loft which Rick googled on his phone. With the coffee shop near the bag store located, they then searched for a close by yoga studio that had a yoga class finished by 3.00 pm. With an aim to make head way on the murderer, Beckett and Castle hastily made their way to the yoga studio which was a block away from a Java loft.

The studio was on the first floor over a row of shops. At the top of a flight of stairs there was glass doorway. Without pause, Beckett pushed open the door and entered the yoga studio. Behind her, Rick stopped in his tracks to absorb in awe the sight that was before him. Scattered about the studio were at least twenty women all in skimpy skin clenched clothing. They came in all sorts of shapes, sizes and ages which created a natural smile of appreciation and fondness for the fairer sex. He adored women. And then he heard it.

"Castle." Beckett summoned.

"Coming." He hurried after her to the counter where a young woman was behind the desk.

Beckett held up her police badge and a photo of the woman they searched for. "NYPD. Do you know this girl?"

The receptionist gave the photo a casual glance then looked at Beckett and Castle with a suspicious expression. She cautiously replied, "Diana Edwards. Why, what's she done?"

Curious, Castle asked, "What do you mean?

"You're the second cop that's come in looking for her." She pointed at the photograph.

Beckett asked, "Another cop was here?

"Yeah, he just left a few minutes ago"

Beckett looked at Rick, "Baylor", she said and turned back to the receptionist, "We need Diana's address right now."

….

They hurried from the yoga studio and decided as they descended the stairs that hiking on foot to the woman's apartment was going to be quicker than going back to the car and driving to the address. They jogged along the street, turned a left and hastily paced a further two blocks. The apartment was in a small building.

"Should we call it in?" Rick asked.

Kate gave him a look. "What's to call in, Ricky?"

"We could be going into a dangerous situation."

Kate decided not to answer and forged ahead. As a tenant was leaving the building he held the door open for them thereby letting them inside the building.

"Great security." Rick remarked as they waited for an elevator. His breathing was still fast from their run but he noticed that Beckett had already recovered and her cheeks were blushed. Out of the elevator they made a short walk to the apartment door. Kate rapped on the door.

Beckett loudly called, "Diana Edwards, NYPD. Open up."

They waited for a response inside. Castle asked, "Can I kick it down?"

Beckett replied, "Sorry, Kitten." She knocked hard and again called, "NYPD."

From inside the apartment they heard the thumping of foot falls and woman yelled back, "Okay, Okay. Take it easy." The door partially opened, and a face appeared.

Beckett showed her badge, "Detective Beckett, NYPD. Are you Diana Edwards?"

"Yes."

Kate pushed the door, barged into the apartment.

"Hey!" Diana screeched, but allowed the detective through.

Beckett searched the living area of the apartment then turned about facing Diana. She asked, "Is everything OK?

"It's fine." Diana slipped the chain from the door and opened the door wide.

Beckett calmly said as she entered the apartment with her guy poised, "We have video surveillance of you purchasing a Chanel bag on Canal Street two days ago."

"Wow, I know you guys are cracking down on the knock-offs but-"

Castle said, "Where's the bag?"

Diana pointed "Over there." Beckett and Castle looked about then rushed across the room and dived on the bag. Beckett placed it on the counter and ripped open the side pocket.

"Excuse me. Hey." Diana objected. "What are you doing that for?" Diana almost screeched. Beckett found the passport and looked to Rick. They had finally found the cause.

"What's going on?" The woman asked totally confused.

Castle said, "You are a very lucky lady."

"I don't understand, am I in trouble?" Diana asked.

Castle said, "No. But from now on, always buy retail."

Beckett made a call on her cell phone, "Detective Beckett. I need a unit at Ninety-First and Broadway."

Castle happened to look towards the doorway when he thought he heard something and saw a black man at the doorway of the apartment holding a gun up. "Whoa!"

He grabbed Beckett and threw himself behind the kitchen counter as a gunshot sounded. He landed beneath her, cushioning her fall. Diana ran to her bedroom. Beckett instantly crawled out of his arms and sat up grabbing her gun. She hissed at Rick, "Call 911."

Mukhta Baylor yelled, "Give me the passport."

Beckett quickly demanded, "Put down your weapon now."

"Give me the passport."

Beckett said, "Baylor, any minute now this place is going to be crawling with cops, don't make things worse than they are."

"Give me what I want and I walk away," Baylor replied with a thick accent.

Castle who was seated on the floor beside Beckett, murmured, "I've written this scene about a hundred times. We give him what he wants, you know how it ends? Badly. And by 'badly,' I mean us dead."

Beckett hissed back as she tried to peer over the counter, "Just stay down."

Castle sharply replied, "You stay down."

Beckett sat down, "I can't shoot him from down here."

"Well, he can't shoot you either."

Beckett whispered, "I can't see him."

Castle said, "Shhhh, he's moving."

Beckett said, "I've only got two rounds left. I need a clean shot, I got to get eyes on him somehow. What's with you and phones?

"I'm not playing games." Baylor called.

Beckett said, "I don't have an angle on him from down here.

"I will kill you both." Baylor threatened.

Castle said, "Okay, when we shoot he shoots. He'll be exposed. I'll set the pick you take him down."

Beckett said, "Set the pick with what?"

Castle said, "This." He reached for a bottle of champagne from a bar fridge.

Beckett said, "You're gonna get yourself shot.

Castle said, "Not if you make your shot count." He replied giving the bottle a good shake. He slid to the other end of the counter,

Beckett hissed, "Castle."

Castle said, "Just be ready." He said as he commenced to untwist the wire to release the cork.

"This is your last warning." Baylor called.

Castle looked to Beckett, "Now. I'd say this deserves a toast. Go." He said and released the cork. It went with a pop and liquid squirted from the top. He saw Beckett rise from behind the counter with her gun poised. She put two bullets into the intruder who fell heavily.

"Call an ambulance Castle. I have to keep him alive."

…

Castle softly closed the door to Beckett's apartment and locked up for the night. She'd left the kitchen light on for him in case he decided to come over. At almost 1.00 am, he'd almost decided against leaving the loft. He left his keys and wallet on the kitchen counter then turned on his iPhone flashlight. With the lights off and using the light from the phone, he made his way to the bedroom which was slightly lit up by the light of the city coming through the open curtain. He kicked off his shoes, pushed down his jeans, pulled off his sweater and socks then crawled onto the bed where Kate was sound asleep. She was curled up in the middle of the bed, more so on his side, well beneath the blankets that he pulled down a little to find where her face was. He smiled, lightly brushing back her dark hair. He kissed over her temple.

Kate moved, a smile forming.

"Castle." She dreamily murmured.

"I came, Kate."

"Stop writing."

He smiled. She was growing accustomed to him writing in the night. "I've stopped." He answered.

She furrowed her brow. "Meredith is gone?"

"She's gone home." He confirmed.

"Good." She blindly reached to his shoulders, "Keep me warm."

He fell into the bed beside her, covered his body with the blankets and dragged her close to him. She giggled.

Castle hugged her, "I had my first gun battle."

Beckett rolled into his body, laughed at his enthusiasm, "And your last gun battle."

"Don't be so pessimistic, I think I handled myself pretty well."

Beckett said, "Yeah, probably saved my life with a bottle of grog."

Castle said, "Probably. I definitely saved your life, and you know what that means don't you? It means you owe me."

Beckett keenly asked, "Owe you what?"

Castle said, "You know exactly what I want, don't you? You know what I really, really want you to do?"

Kate rolled over and pushed him onto his back. "I know exactly what you want, kitten."

"Pussy. I want pussy." And with that he grabbed her upper arms and tackled her to her back, thoroughly enjoying her struggle to maintain dominance and her laughter. He so loved hearing her laugh.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33** – Home is where the heart is

They actioned something on their bucket list of dates or activities they wanted to do together. It was a basic date, but one they classified as a right of passage in life. They were at the movies, on a week night, at some dive of a theatre that played old movies. What had attracted them was the movie being played, well it had attracted Becket, and Castle had been happy to tag along because he knew exactly why the date was on the list. Kate had put it there, and after a couple of wines she had shared her explanation. With dinner behind them, they bought tickets to a rerun of the movie _Dirty Dancing_. As predicted, the back row was their choice of seating. The theatre was at 30% capacity and they had the back four rows to themselves.

At the beginning, they sat side by side, shared a bucket of popcorn and soft drink and watched the beginning of the classic movie. When they tired of the popcorn he slid his hand over hers, which caused her to look at his eyes. She smiled, leaned towards him and gave him a kiss. His left hand raised to her face and stroked her cheek.

Kate listened to the movie. She didn't need to watch the feature she knew it so well. She was enthralled, engrossed and totally into the man she had kept a lot of company with of late. She was making out with her boyfriend at the pictures.

They were comfortable knowing they were safe, that no one would recognize them that evening. Not a chance in hell. A tucked away third rate cinema, playing dated movies. Unrestricted, Rick's hands were in her hair, around her torso, on her thighs, her hips, her cheeks, between her thighs. Likewise, she was feeling him up, playing out what she should have experienced as a teenager, at time when she'd had her head in text books.

When her phone began to vibrate with incoming texts, Rick tried to stop Kate from looking at her phone by restraint at her wrists. When the fifth text vibrated her phone, it was Rick who reached inside her back pocket and pulled out the phone. He kept it out of her reach but read the texts. That was when he showed her. She was on call. There had been a reported murder.

She frowned after she read it, disappointment evident.

"I'll bring you back tomorrow night." He said quietly, "This has been fun." He stood up, looked at the screen to see Patrick Swayze standing on the porch of a small hut. Rick gave him a wave as he led his Detective out of the theatre by her hand.

Half way across the foyer of the theatre he paused in his stride and looked at her eyes, "We going there together?"

"Why not? We can arrive together, as in at the same time." Kate said as they walked back to his car, then headed in the direction of the address she'd been texted. He parked a block down from the property ten minutes later.

The crime scene late in the evening was an apartment in a wealthy neighborhood, not far from Castle's loft. Above an impressive mantel piece a woman's deceased body was contorted and crudely stuffed inside the confined cavity of a wall safe. Her limbs untidily protruded from the box and dark blood dripped from the motionless fingers in thick blobs.

Fascination and disgust was written over Ryan's face as he inspected the female victim hanging out of the wall safe, and wondered how the hell she had been successfully stuffed into such a small space. He was also red-faced, sniffling, and his eyes were watery from sneezing. He was distracted by a sudden bout of sneezes and searched for a desperately needed tissue he found in a pocket. All present in the room quietly blessed him as another bout of sneezes took control.

Once he regained control of his allergies, Ryan asked the medical examiner on duty, "How many bones did they have to break to get her in there?

Dr Parish replied, "Won't know till I get her back to the lab."

Ryan sneezed.

Lanie gave him a look only she could muster up and warned, "Don't contaminate my crime scene."

"Sorry, it must be the feathers."

A uniformed policeman, who was holding fort near the main entrance of the apartment, called with a mildly raised voice so all present would hear, "Beckett's here."

Ryan immediately made his way to the hall way to meet his team leader.

At the end of the hall, Esposito was with a crying woman, politely consoling her and taking a statement. Ryan knew she was the victim's daughter, Joanne Delgado, who had raised the alarm about her mother. As expected, the woman in her thirties was quite distraught but calm enough to speak with the detectives. He gave a wave to Castle and Beckett who walked down the hall towards him. It passed through his thoughts they moved about each other like a couple who spent a lot of time together. He often thought they'd make a great couple but Beckett was not the slightest bit interested in the writer even though she was a big fan of his novels. Beckett didn't seem the type to fan girl either.

At the doorway, Ryan said, "No sign of forced entry. The same as the others."

Beckett said, "Looks like our home invasion crew went for a four peat."

Ryan showed his agreement with a nod, "They're stepping up their game. Becoming more violent." He sneezed.

Castle and Beckett said together, "Bless you."

Castle quickly said to Beckett, "Jinx."

Esposito who joined them, glanced from Ryan to Beckett to Castle, to Beckett.

She pointed at sneezy Ryan and asked Esposito, "What's wrong with him?"

Esposito smiled and replied, "Goose down. He's allergic."

Castle said to Beckett ignoring Esposito, "I'm sorry. Under the time honored rules of jinx, you're not allowed to speak until I release you."

Ryan sneezed violently, again.

Castle, Beckett and Esposito said, "Bless you!"

Beckett turned to Castle, serious and said, "Reverse double jinx."

Castle, caught off-guard, started to talk. "I just, I..."

Beckett waved a hand to shut him up, "Uh-uh. Castle, mouth shut, until I release you. Thank you, Ryan." She smiled and gave him a thumbs up, as Ryan nodded.

Beckett focused on the Esposito and Ryan, "So what do we have?"

Esposito pointed to Joanne, who was down the hall where he'd left her with a uniformed officer, "That's Joanne Delgado, daughter of Susan Delgado, the victim. She called to say good night to her mom, only tonight Mom didn't pick up. She called the doorman, doorman came up, finds the door ajar, and..."

Beckett's eyes widened, "And?"

Esposito smiled a little, "Well, let's just say this one's definitely Beckett-flavored."

They entered Susan's apartment, and crossed the living room to where the deceased had been found. The residence was in disarray with white feathers everywhere or floating about. Lanie and a CSU photographer are at the open wall safe. Susan Delgado's body has been stuffed inside. Gloved up, Beckett approached the safe.

Lanie smiled, "Hey."

"Hi Lanie. What happened?" Kate peered at the body jammed into the save, her face screwing up, clearly a reflection of the scrambled thoughts going on in her head as to how the hell someone had got the older woman into the same, limbs and all.

Lanie interrupted her thoughts, "Blood spatter indicates single GSW. Close range." Lanie tweezed a blood-soaked feather out of a pool of blood.

Beckett commented, "You can still smell the cordite."

Ryan said, "I'll have to take your word for it."

Castle concluded aloud, "Oh, they shot her and stuffed her in the safe."

"Better than last one. They beat the guy to death." Esposito said.

"None of the neighbors heard a gunshot?" Beckett inquired.

Esposito said, "Nada. Must be heavy sleepers."

Castle squatted over a pillow that had exploded, the cause of the feathers everywhere and he replied, "No, they used the pillow as a poor man's sound suppressor."

Beckett cleared her throat which amused Ryan mainly because his boss was usually very serious at murder scenes but tonight was relaxed, light hearted. It was refreshing to see.

Castle gazed up at her, "Yeah, yes. I broke the jinx. I will buy you a soda."

Moving on, Beckett asked, "Any shell casings?"

Lanie said, "None."

"Probably used a revolver," she suggested.

"And a bolt cutter." Lanie said pointed toward the hand of the deceased.

Beckett focused on the missing finger on the dead woman. "Her wedding ring," she said, "She didn't wanna give it up, and so they punished her for it. Husband?"

"Passed a few years ago," Esposito replied.

"In a building like this? This part of town? You'd think she'd be safe. No pun intended. How often are people killed in neighborhoods like this?" Castle asked.

Beckett replied, "Same as anywhere else, Castle. Just the once." She took a further look around, "We'll let the scientists do their work and say we meet up at the Precinct at seven. Ryan, can you organize the unies to canvass the neighbors and report back to you."

"Sure."

Kate took one last look over the scene to ensure she didn't miss anything. The photos from the scene would be on the electronic files first thing the next morning and Lanie's initial notes would be uploaded and on her way home, she would order the evidence boxes from a few previous incidents to be brought up from storage.

She glanced at Rick silently telling him it was time to leave. He acknowledged and followed her out of the apartment.

Just on a half hour later, Rick partially opened the door to the loft and poked his head around the door to find the single lamp he'd left on when he had departed earlier was still on and the living area was absent of redheads. He pushed the door fully open as he stepped inside, carrying a small pizza. Kate followed him inside, carrying the beer in one hand, a small bag in the other. She passed Rick the beer.

"I'll go change into something more comfy," Kate quietly said and pointed at her boots and jeans.

"There's a shirt at the end of the bed, Baby," Rick said. He placed the pizza on the coffee table with the beer and followed his girlfriend to the bedroom.

She was seated at the end of the bed and lifted her leg when she saw him. He smirked, took a strong grasp of the heel of her boot and pulled it off. He passed it to her, then pulled off the other once she put up her leg. She then pushed off the jeans and panties.

"Sure you want pizza?" Rick asked shamelessly watching Kate take off her clothes.

"Pervert." She laughed, "Pizza, Buddy. I'm starving."

"Skinny thing," he muttered unsympathetically.

Kate laughed, patting her flat stomach. "Empty. I'm telling you Castle, I've put on weight dating you." She wriggled out of the bra.

"I saw what you put away at dinner." He passed her the shirt he had worn that day and she threw it on. "I'm not surprised, and by the way, I have no idea where you put it but you look stunning."

She paused, looked over his face, "And you look like a happy man."

"Because I am." He watched her fight the shirt until it was over her head, her arms in the right places, her actions bringing a smile to his face that she saw once her head popped through the hold of the shirt. Dark hair was ruffled up, her eyes were glistening as she smiled up at him, humored my her own struggle with the clothing. With an amused smirk, he reached out, tugged at the sleeve until she lifted her arm up towards him. She was a little confused and watched on with intrigue as he began to roll the sleeves up her arms. "You're drowning in this."

"Yeah." She grinned, "You're a big guy."

"You're small, tall, but small. Hey, did you notice the look Ryan had tonight?" She softly asked, rather turned on by what he was doing.

"Yeah, didn't want to mention it." He glanced to her eyes, "He looked like it was crossing his mind we are dating or we should date." He started on the other sleeve.

"Castle?"

"Mmm?" He studied her face, confused by her girlish tone.

"What you're doing." She said.

"Mmm?" He glanced to her arm, then went back to her large eyes, dilated pupils.

"This is arousing."

He smiled, "What is arousing is you sitting there, on my bed, in my oversized shirt, no bra, no panties, looking beautiful, and we're going back out there to eat pizza and drink beer."

She laughed, "We could bring it in here. I'll stay like this."

Castle pointed at her, "Don't move." He hurried out of the bedroom. In under a minute he returned with the consumables, the lights out in the living area. He found Kate sitting on the bed, bare legs crossed. He passed her a beer he'd twisted the cap off, then reached for a throw rug from the armchair that he gave her. She spread it over her legs. Rick stripped himself of clothing, down to his boxers. He joined her on the bed.

With pizza disappearing fast they talked about life in general. Every time Rick was exposed to another victim, his hunger for life, to live to the fullest grew stronger. He also ensured Kate enjoyed her time she spent in his company. Montgomery had mentioned in passing on the day he'd approached the captain to follow Beckett, that she needed some serious fun in her life. Rick was pretty sure he'd brought enjoyment into her life. He'd also learned not to bring up shop talk now he had her at home.

"We need to review that bucket list," he said between bites.

"Need to cross off one." She beamed, leaned towards him and met half way for a kiss. "Best night, Castle, until my phone interrupted us."

"We can go again. I must have it noted that tonight was the best date I've had at the movies."

"Ditto." Kate replied, "I made out with Richard Castle in the back row of a theatre." She sung out, then laughed at her foolishness.

He smirked, "You're fangirling, Kate. I struggle to believe I have you here on my bed, in my clothes, eating with me."

"Don't wanna be anywhere else," she answered. "Though I will have to sneak out early."

"That is sweet." Rick picked up the empty pizza box and discarded it to the floor.


	34. Chapter 34

_This ch contains storyline to set up with additional bits in between. Hope you enjoy it and apologies for the delay but been busy with work. Thank you for all your comments. Really like them all._

 **Chapter 34**

The next morning, Beckett was at the bullpen before dawn broke in the hope that the evidence they had on a couple of previous cases was back from storage. As luck would have it, she had stayed at Castle's place without getting sprung by his family and the boxes were on her desk when she arrived.

With the contents of the boxes spilled over her desk, Beckett spent an hour or so alone in front of the white board where she had on display crime scene photos and newspaper clippings from the four home invasions major crimes had already investigated and so far, had failed to solve. Failure of major crimes to close the cases might have allowed the criminals to become more confident, and now there were murders taking place. There was pressure on the homicide squad to make a breakthrough or two. There was a map of the area taped to the board, and four red pins marked where the houses were located.

Castle, who had arrived later with fresh coffees, had been assisting Beckett with dressing up the white board and he thought it looked impressive. A board he'd like to have at home for a story. He said, "Each of the robberies took place in a different part of the city." He pointed generally at the map.

Beckett nodded and said, "A different high-end part of the city." She smiled to Esposito and Ryan as they approached the board. They had turned up a few minute ago.

Esposito said, "Wall safes and high end jewelry. These guys came in knowing exactly what they were going to find."

Castle added, "Well, there must be a pattern. Something that connects them all. The first one was three months ago?"

"Arr, yeah," Ryan said, "Central Park West. Bob and Linda Kesler were bound, gagged, and beaten. Intruders wore masks. Took roughly $175,000 in jewelry."

"Same MO on York Street?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Esposito replied, "Only, when Mr Bruner refused to open his safe, they broke his wife's arms."

'"Charming." Castle commented, "Which brings us to last night."

Beckett said, "They're getting bolder. They're escalating their violence."

Castle said, "Well, it can't be random. How do they know what's in the safes? Safes. Is that a word? Is it _saves_?" He scratched his head, "That can't be right."

Esposito smirked, "And you write for a living?"

Beckett waited impatiently for the writer to make his point, "Castle. The point?"

Castle said, "The point is, our home invaders seem to know an awful lot about their victims."

Ryan said, "We've compared insurance companies, home security vendors, even the kinds of safes that they had. Nothing's been a match."

"I'm just thinking, they seem to know their targets so well, maybe they actually know them," Castle suggested.

Ryan said, "Maybe the victim's daughter can tell us."

Kate thought about it. "I will call Joanne Delgado and ask her to come in. She might know the connection."

"Good idea." Ryan said, then shifted off the edge of the desk and made his way back to his desk. Esposito followed him.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom," Castle said as Beckett returned to her desk. She ignored him and picked up the desk phone to call Joanne Dalgado.

After a disgruntled Joanne Delgado left the Precinct, Castle and Beckett found refuge in the breakout room at the Precinct, where it was quiet and out the way for a few minutes.

The meeting with the victim's daughter hadn't gone so well particularly because the woman hadn't received Kate's compassion and understanding as authentic.

Rick knew that Kate was a somewhat miffed by the conversation with Joanne Delgado who wanted action, wanted her mother's murderer caught. Kate understood all that too well, and had attempted to express that the police would do everything to bring justice, but she also didn't want Joanne to know she had once walked in her shoes. Kate had been a lot younger when she had suffered the same experience as Joanne. As a result, the detective needed a few minutes to recollect her thoughts and push away the frustrations that relatives of the victims often caused. They needed to lash out and point the finger at others and more than often, Rick observed, it was the detectives that were on the receiving end of such lashings.

"Joanne wasn't happy and she doesn't have much faith in us solving her mother's murder," Beckett said as Castle pushed coins into the vending machine slot.

"She should have faith in you, especially after the conversation," Castle replied. "It was pretty impressive, the way you handled her back there. Which flavor?" He asked.

Kate inspected the available cans of soft drink, "I didn't _handle_ her, Castle. I just told her the truth. Same thing I'm gonna tell the other home invasion victims." She punched the button on the can of soda she wanted and they both watched as the can tumbled its way to the collection bin.

Castle retrieved the soda and handed it to her. "Jinx paid in full."

"Thanks." Beckett accepted the payment, "It's the job, Castle."

"Oh, you're short selling, Beckett. Ryan and Esposito could not manage that level of empathy."

Beckett looked out to the boys working at their desks, "That's not true. They just save it for fantasy football trades."

"Makes me think about Alexis. What would she do if something happened to me?"

"Well, she still has her mom, right?"

"Meredith's more like a crazy aunt with a credit card. Of the two of us, I'm the more responsible one. Pretty sad, isn't it?" He smiled boyishly.

Beckett smirked, "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much, Castle. After all, only the good die young." She gave him a cheeky look.

"Ouch."

Beckett said, "Listen, Freud. I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to talk about my mom. See if you can squeeze any more pulp for your fiction." She started out to her desk to grab her phone and keys. They needed to hit the road.

"Pulp?" He squawked, "You think what I do is pulp?" He followed Kate through the bull pen, towards the elevator, "Listen, I will have you know that The New York Review of Books - not The New York Times Book Review, mind you, The New York Review of Books - said that Derrick Storm is this generation's answer to—"

In the elevator, Beckett hit ground as she replied, "I read that piece. And even you have to admit that it's more than a little hyperbolic."

"Mmm."

She tried not to smile as she asked, "So how much did you pay the reviewer?"

Castle, who stood quite close to her as the elevator descended, replied, "A case of Châteauneuf-du-Pape... but that's not the point. The point is, you read the New York Review of Books?" He asked not expecting Kate to have read the article.

"Oh, so many layers to the Beckett onion. However, will you peel them all?"

"I have plenty of time, Baby," he replied leaning against the wall of the elevator. "Lunch?"

"Yes, I'm starving. Then we'll go downtown and finish the canvass, see if the victims have a connection."

"We know the Keslers and the Pastoris didn't know each other, and neither one of them knew the Bruners or Susan Delgado."

Kate said, "Four luxury buildings, four major scores, and we got nothing. They're not getting caught, Rick so they have no incentive to quit now."

"True. Shall we walk to the café where you like the milk shakes?"

"Yes. I could do with a bit of fresh air. And a milk shake."

"Same, about the walk. Personally, I'd prefer a Scotch but it's a bit too early." Castle said as they commenced their short walk of a block or so to the café.

"Later, Buddy. But it is after five somewhere in the world."

"Yeah, New Zealand maybe." He chuckled. "So, I could go a drink."

"Soda maybe."

While they were eating lunch, Rick's phone lit up. Both peered over to see who it was from. Rick swiped the screen, swallowed food then read the text message aloud to Kate, "Espo says that the intruders used a bump key. Forensics found brass shavings in the lock mechanism on the front door." He mulled over that for a moment staring at the screen then looked over the table at Beckett who was sucking on the straw of her shake. "That's when a standard house key is filed down right?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

"Then a mallet is used to drive into the lock. Separates the tumblers like billiard balls."

Again, Kate's head bobbed, a cheeky smile forming as she watched him back, her eyes roaming him from his waist to his hair.

"What?" He asked, touching his hair, sure it was out of place.

She put the shake down and sat up, "Not just a ruggedly handsome, Dude, hey Castle? You know what a bump key is."

He smiled in recollection of a memory from long ago, "Yeah, I bought a door, and had lots of locks installed on it to learn how to break into houses for a novel I wrote. Alexis learned too. She got quite accomplished at picking locks. Impressed me considering how young she was," he explained, "Problem is the hardware on the Delgado's door was a high end import. There is no way a standard bump key would work. They'd have to use something special. Something your average joe like me couldn't rig."

"Espo will figure it out, Castle. He's good with stuff like that."

"His foul spent youth coming back to haunt him."

"He told you about that?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little bit here and there. He's very protective of you."

"I know."

"Threatened to break all my limbs if I so much as touch you."

"Oh." An eyebrow rose, "Bit too late for that."

He smirked, and proudly said, "Yeah, not a bit of you I haven't touched."

"If only he knew."

"Not yet. You need to tell him, Honey when the time comes. He will break me." Rick seriously and fearfully looked at her eyes before he focused on his meal and took another bite of his sandwich.

"I'll protect you, Ricky."

"Atta' girl."

By the time, Beckett and Castle finished lunch, Esposito had sent another text to Castle requesting their return to the Precinct, that they had identified a potential suspect and were going to go out and find him, bring him back to the Precinct for a little chat.

It was a full house inside the observation room. Standing in a line, all staring through the glass was Castle, Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Montgomery. Inside the tank sat Evan Mitchell, a man in his forties with all those years etched over his face.

Castle muttered, "Evan Mitchell," as he stared in awe at the man in the box.

Montgomery chuckled, "He's a legacy, Castle. I was telling the boys earlier, his dad and his granddad are legends in the industry."

Esposito held up Mitchell's pistol in an evidence bag.

Ryan pointed at the gun and said, "Say hello to his little friend."

The boys laughed. Kate rolled her eyes.

Esposito said, "It was in his waistband when we snatched him up." Everyone studied the hand gun in the bag.

Beckett said, "Serial numbers are scratched off."

Montgomery said, "Heavy on collars, light on convictions."

Ryan said, "Amazing how many times a guy can get arrested without ever serving time."

Castle said, "He must have a pretty good lawyer."

Montgomery said, "Or good at what he does."

Castle said, "Good enough to be our perp?"

"Why do you writers always call them perps?" Ryan asked in frustration.

Castle said, "Isn't that what you call them?"

"Ah, we got a whole lot of names for them." Ryan replied.

Esposito said, "Yeah."

Ryan began, "Pipe head, piss head, ork, creep…."

"Crook, knucklehead, chucklehead…" Esposito continued.

Ryan and Esposito faced each other, like two kids _'playing the dozens'_. Castle scribbled furiously on a note pad.

"Chud, turd." Ryan said.

Esposito said, "Destro, skell.

Ryan said, "Skeksi, slicko, slick."

Esposito said, "Mope."

"Sleestack."

Castle pleaded, "Slow down, slow down."

Beckett stepped in between the two boys and said in a firm tone, "Suspects. We call them suspects.

Montgomery said, "I'm old school. I like dirt bag."

Castle said, "Classic."

"Beckett, you'd better get your ass in there and see if you can shake something out of this dirt bag." Montgomery ordered, pointing at their suspect.

"Yes, Sir." She glanced to Castle who then followed her out of the observation room.

In the Captain's office a quarter hour later, Montgomery sat with a frustrated Beckett who had got nothing but a headache out of Mitchell. There was nothing worse than a criminal with a smart and quick mouth. They'd transferred him down to holding to let him think for a while and to see if they could come up with any evidence that might lead to charging him with murder. At the moment they had nothing.

"We can hold him on the gun," Montgomery stated, "But there's no match with ballistics on Mrs. Delgado. And without other evidence to link him to the other homicide."

"I'll find something, sir," Beckett confidently replied.

"Not if his alibi checks out."

"Sir, it's just pots and kettles."

Montgomery tapped a finger on the desk, sometimes wishing his number one detective wasn't so bloody fixated. He read from a sheet of paper, "On the last robbery, not the first. Mitchell was being arraigned on an unrelated burglary the same day this crew struck. Unless you can break his alibi on this one, he's a dead end."

"Another dead end." She echoed.

"Go blow some steam off. Mitchell made you angry and you can't focus when you're like this, Beckett. Grab Castle and get outa here for a while."

Beckett stood up, glanced to see where her partner was but none of her team was about. She then nodded at the Captain and got out of there. She made it to her desk, latched onto her gun holster and headed towards the elevator.

 _Blow off steam._

Beckett smiled wickedly as she pointed her Glock at the silhouette target. She was angry. The case going nowhere. Delgado had got stuck into her that morning. Mitchell had simply tormented her. With headphones one, she emptied another round into the target. The magazine needed to be reloaded, she pulled off the headphones and began to disassemble the weapon.

Castle entered the room as he said, "You got to watch those silhouettes. They can be shifty little bastards."

She looked back at Castle as he walked up to her. "Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate."

"Man, when I hit a wall, all I got is one of those little stress balls and internet porn."

Frustrated, Beckett groaned, "Castle –"

"Look, I get it, alright? You made a promise to a daughter to find her mother's killer. Doesn't take Freud to see what's what. But you're gonna run up some blind alleys before you get out of the maze."

Beckett sighed, put up the headphones and said, "Look, as much as I appreciate your folksy Dr Phil aphorisms, I just want to-" She turned and squeezed off her clip, grouping a cluster in the silhouette's head.

Castle shoved his index fingers in his ears, then shouted above the din. "Wouldn't it be more of a challenge if they weren't standing still?"

Beckett stripped out her magazine, loaded a fresh one, and placed her weapon on the barricade. "Okay, Castle. You show me how it's done."

Castle excited squeaked, "Ooh!"

Beckett set up a new target while Castle grabbed goggles and headphones.

Beckett handed him her weapon, "All yours." She stood behind Castle as he hefted the weapon. He bladed his body into a dueler's stance, and closed one eye, which caused her to secretly laugh.

"It's not a duel, Scaramouche. Here." She moved him into the correct shooting stance. He Beckett said, "Square off to target. Feet shoulder-distance apart. Okay." She guided his arms "Gauntlet your right fist in your left palm."

Rick pulled the trigger. Bam! Surprise trigger break. The bullet went way wide of the target. Kate rolled her eyes.

Castle squawked, "Whoa! Shot too soon."

"Yeah, well." She looked into his eyes, and seductively said, "You know, we could always just cuddle, Castle." She smiled, restraining laughter.

Castle said, "Oh, funny. And a smile. Good."

Castle turned back to the silhouette and concentrated on the target. He pointed the Glock and pulled the trigger once. The shot landed just above the shoulder. The shell casing hit Beckett's cheek and she brushed it off.

Beckett studied the intact target, then commented, "That's better."

"Hmm." He sighed, "You know I, uh, came down to ask you if I could, uh, take home some of those stolen property photos."

"Photos of the jewelry? Why?"

"I don't know. Just thought it might spark something."

Castle pulled the trigger once again and shot the silhouette in the crotch. He's way outside the 10-ring. "Ooh. That gotta hurt," he said.

Beckett smiled. "Tell you what. You put any of the next three in the 10-ring, and I will give you the files and something extra special next time you stay over, big fella."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Castle pivoted into a Weaver and pulled the trigger in rapid fire. Bam. Bam. Bam. Expended brass casings fell one after another at their feet. The rounds slam dead center on his target in a tight group.

Beckett's brown furrowed with disbelief. He was a bloody crack shot and maybe even better than her. Astounded, she turned her head towards him and gave him a piercing look. "What the?"

Castle smiled and said, "You're a very good teacher. And I am keen about the extra special something."

"I bet you are." She answered, "You were just playing with me."

A chuckle escaped him. "I guess you need to clean your weapon, Detective.' He handed her the gun. "Are the photos on your desk?"

She released the clip, "Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

Rick took her hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, "Thank you for the lesson."

"Smart ass."

"Tomorrow." He smiled looking into her eyes. He then said, "See you in the morning."

Kate watched him leave, a little taken aback by his actions, immensely surprised with his shooting abilities.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Castle, who was seated on the couch with an ice pack pressed to his jaw wasn't sure whether he was in trouble and if so what the extend of such trouble happened to be. A glass of red wine had been gratefully accepted, and he tipped the glass to his lips for the second time. It was a very nice drop. He had a sip, careful not to move his jaw too much.

Kate stood at the kitchen island, nibbled on nuts while she waited for the microwave to finish with the heat bag. She wasn't sure whether to be pissed or amused by Castle's late night antics. He was kind of paying for his actions with the pain he suffered in his jaw but other than that, he was proud as punch about his progress with the case. She understood his reasoning, but wished he would contact her first before he embarked on these late night adventures he enjoyed.

"What I don't know yet, Castle, is how you got to the crime scene…" She impatiently tapped her nails on the counter, the thought of going to bed quite attractive, "Like …"

"You want the story," he suggested, "Ka-." His jaw clicked quite loudly. "Ouch."

Kate's eyes widened, "I heard that."

He nursed it momentarily. "Yeah. Loud." He moved his jaw from side to side, then declared quite happier, "Actually, it feels better."

"Good."

"You want me to give you the story then?"

Kate pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yes, because I need to know."

"How far do you want me to go back?" He cautiously inquired.

"You can skip going home. How did you get to where you got smacked in the jaw?"

Castle smirked, "Shiner huh?" He sobered, "It still hurts, Kate."

"Well, good luck with that, Sherlock." Kate went to the microwave as it beeped its job as complete. "It'll hurt for a couple of days."

"Yeah, I know. Okay, well, Alexis was telling me about Owen."

"Owen?" She asked with an inquisitive smile, as she walked around the island to the couch. "A boy?"

"Uh huh," he replied, "Study group, just the two of them."

"How cute."

"Need to meet him but yes, she's all smitten with him like you are with me." He smugly smiled.

"In your dreams, buster. You liked me first." She took the ice pack from him and passed him the heat bag.

"Can't deny that," he replied, "Second I saw your face I was gone."

"Mmm." She smiled, "I know. So, continue, Castle."

"Alexis noticed the evidence photos, and had a go on me about pilfering evidence again."

"I see."

"I see?" Castle asked, "I was borrowing them as per our agreement."

"Alexis knows you well."

"She does." He gently placed the heat bag against his jaw where the cold pack had been. He grimaced, and went to take it away but Kate reached out and held it firm against him. He tilted his head away, "Fuck. Kate. It hurts."

"Stop being a baby," she patiently murmured, watching over him as while he passively continued to object for a bit longer before he began to accept the heat. From experience, she knew his jaw was going to smart for a couple of days. "So, what happened next?"

"My Mother entered the living room, a cocktail in her hand, and happened to see the pictures. We got talking about a panic room."

She stared into his eyes, "A panic room?"

"Mm, also air conditioners and the risk of death."

"I'm beginning to understand why you are who you are," Kate remarked, somewhat confused and amused, and willing to hear the tale unravel.

"Comprehension will make you run away," Castle warned, "But the conversation leads to Powell, the guy who went with me to the apartment, the one you didn't get to meet because he disappeared."

"The one who hit you?"

"Yes, as my mother said, when she had something going with Powell, I had to ruin it for her because I allegedly forced him into retirement, ruined his career, and he threatened to slit my throat."

"What on earth did you do?"

"I innocently thanked him in the acknowledgements of one of my novels and completely blew his cover."

Kate laughed, "Hope it was worth it."

"Best seller for me."

"So, you went to saw Powell tonight, with the photos," Kate confirmed and saw his acknowledgment as she continued, "And he was still mad at you?"

"Yeah, he was still mad." He sighed, "I went to see him, you know, see if he could shed any light on the case. I took the close-up pictures of the stolen high end jewelry, you know, the ones photographed next to a ruler for scale."

"Mmmhmm."

"Well, I knew I have to make contact with Powell, my old informant. I go to his place, well, where he lived when I knew him. He's in the same place. I entered this elegant, cozy little garret. You know the type. There were leather bound books on shelves, leather club chairs, reading lamps, antiques, you name it. There was a state of the art workbench filled with high end gems, uncut diamonds, and even a few showpieces. I was busy flipping through a leather-bound album on the workbench, glancing through yellowed news clippings of big jewelry heists from around the world. I happened upon a more recent Ledger clipping from the latest string of home invasions posted on a pillar. When I saw that clipping, Honey, I swear I thought this was a very bad idea."

She stroked his face with the back of her fingers, and said, "You should have called me."

He lowered his hand and the heat pack, "Maybe. So, I'm looking at the clipping, then BAM!"

Kate jumped in surprise giving him a quizzical look.

"A punch sent me sprawling. Clean knocked me to the ground." Castle rubbed his jaw with his free hand, until Kate pushed the heat bag back against his skin. "Keep it there. I will go get another cold pack. Continue with your story." She patted his shoulder.

"After a drink and a quick catch up I showed him the insurance photos, the stolen jewelry from the home invasions. He examined the photos of the jewels, their luster and curves, as if he were admiring a beautiful woman."

"Really?" Kate threw the packet of frozen mixed vegies in the freezer, wondering how they hell they had got there, and grabbed a bag of frozen peas. Seriously, Rick must have bought the frozen vegies because she never bought that type of frozen food. "Did he know anything?"

"He did say something interesting."

"What was that?"

"That seeing comes before wanting, Kate. He believes the thieves may actually live amongst their victims and move through their world."

Back at the couch, Kate gave a nod of agreement as she picked up Rick's wine and took a sip of it. "It could be the case. We desire things we see and like. So, I know how you got hurt. How did you end up at the crime scene?"

Castle continued, "Powell said that without seeing the scene of the crime, anything more would be mere speculation."

"And so that's why you took him there."

"Well, I did say that the crime scene was all locked and sealed and I didn't think I could get him in there and I was too …. Well, I didn't think you would let me take him there."

"If you thought that then why did you take him there?"

"Because he persuaded me that we let that be the least of our concerns. _It_ being locked up and you."

"So, dismissing me, and the fact you were compromising a crime scene, with flashlights you broke into the apartment."

"We were talking about old style crooks verses todays, we heard the wood creak. Powell just disappeared and you came through the door, holding your gun at me, again." His eyes fixed on her face and she glared right back.

"As I said before, Castle, you brought a thief to a crime scene."

"I reiterate, it was very helpful."

"It was criminal trespassing.

"And like I said, to-may-to, to-mah-to."

"I could have shot you." She warned, as she checked the heat bag.

Non fussed about that, Castle asked, "Did Mitchell make bail yet?"

Beckett smiled, amused by a thought then said, "Paperwork's not done yet. I'm holding him out of spite."

"You should have cut him loose. However, I want to talk to him, Kate."

She furrowed her brow in question, "Why? We already know he wasn't involved."

"It's something that Powell said. I think Mitchell knows more than he's saying."

"And what makes you think he'll share it with us?"

Castle said, "Not us. Just me."

"Okay, then. Why you?"

"I will come at him from a different angle. A writer, wanting a hall pass into his life."

"Okay. But first thing in the morning. We'll have you talk with him before we cut him loose. But not tonight. It's too late."

"Deal." He glanced over her face. She was tired, had paled off somewhat in the past five or so minutes but she remained attentive and caring of his injury. She fussed with the heat bag and held it to his jaw, her left hand resting on his shoulder.

'Does it hurt?" She asked mainly to break the silence between them her eyes drawn to something that was on TV.

"It's gonna be sore tomorrow," he answered giving her a smile, "Do you know how beautiful you are, Kate?" He impulsively asked. Her eyes shot from the TV to his, her cheeks colored up. She looked away again giving him a smile of purse shyness.

"I sometimes see it in your face," she replied, her voice high but soft. "How much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Oh. Way too much to go home."

"Convenient." Kate nudged his right thigh with her leg, which he then adjusted, and she then gently sat upon his lap. "Will swap." She said, took away the heat pack and replaced it with the cold pack. "You won't be able to kiss me tonight," she murmured, putting her left arm to his shoulder.

"I will still kiss you," he said and wrapped his arm about her hips.

Kate smiled, then pressed her lips softly to his. "We go to bed?"

He nodded. Kate pulled away the frozen vegies, "My hands are freezing."

"I know. Thank you. Powell might be of senior years but he can throw a blowing punch."

"You will have a stiff jaw tomorrow."

With the packs, Kate returned to the kitchen to put everything away. It was gone midnight when she followed Rick to her bedroom. She was ready for bed. It had been a long day.

And then it was barely after 7.00 am when Castle found himself seated across from Mitchell who looked a little worse for wear having spent the night in holding. The man needed a shower, a shave and a change of clothes. Having dropped by the loft that morning Rick had been able to change into the fresh clothes. Once Castle would be done with his talk with Mitchell, the uniforms would let the man go. Rick had introduced himself, and then allowed the Mitchell some time to get comfortable with his presence.

Mitchell shifted on his bench seat, as he inquired, "So what are you, a forensic psychiatrist? Some kind of profiler?"

Castle smirked at the mention of a psychiatrist, "Actually, I'm a writer."

Mitchell chuckled, "Embedded reporter, huh? What, you gonna make me famous?"

"Not that kind of writer. I'm a novelist." Rick replied and saw the change in his expression.

Mitchell leaned forward, a little interested. "Yeah? Anything that, uh, I might have heard of?"

Castle mulled over his novels for a moment, "Uh... Storm's Last Stand? Storm Season?"

Mitchell's demeanor changed. "Derrick Storm?"

Castle smiled, "Yeah."

"I love that guy. Why the hell did you kill him?"

Castle waved it off, "Geez, it's a long story. But I'm working on a new one and I gotta tell you, it is very cool. But I want to get the details right."

"They never get the details right." Mitchell replied, "Not in books, movies. They always write us as clowns and thugs. They never stop to think that maybe we got mortgages, families..."

"Exactly." Rick agreed, "Okay, so, in the new book, it's about this crew of home invaders, based on the crew we're looking for right now. I got this one scene where a guy just like you, runs into these guys by accident. In the middle of a job."

Mitchell shook his head, "Wouldn't happen to me. I'm not doing residents. Not at least until you catch these guys. These guys are dark."

"What, you know them?"

Mitchell looked around, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Their shot caller came into the bar a few months back, looking to put together a crew. Wanted to bring me on. Said he had eyes inside, working up scores for him, feeding him the Glengarry leads, items, names, addresses. Said that all he needed was one of my bump keys."

"Did you give it to him?"

"Yeah, I gave it to him." Mitchell replied, "But just to get rid of him. I wasn't about to join him crew."

Castle said, "Why not?"

Mitchell said, "Like I said, these guys were dark. And I'm a two-minute man. In and out. That's my one hard-and-fast. But this sadistic whack job? Whoa. Said he liked to play with his food before he ate it."

"Whoa. Alright, this, um... This shot caller, if I put him in the book, I want it to feel authentic. How would you describe him?" Rick wasn't sure whether Mitchell would reply but the man scratched his day old growth, thought about then stated describing the guy he'd met. Rick sat back relaxed well aware Beckett was upstairs listening to every word. She would be rapt with their progress.

After the police sketch was completed, Beckett arranged for the victim's daughter, Joanne, to attend the Precinct to view the sketch.

Disappointment followed the hope they might have cracked open the case, when Joanne announced to Beckett and Castle that she didn't recognize the man in the sketch. Frustrated, Castle made coffee, stewing over what Mitchell had said to him earlier. He was missing something. While he enjoyed his coffee, he got this idea in his head that it was someone on the inside, but someone who saw the jewelry on show, perhaps when women were adorned with jewels at events. While Kate was sifting through paperwork, Rick ran off to find white boards and lists. He repeatedly echoed special events for anyone who might be listing, then gathered the team, handing out white board markers and lists of social calendar events and groups associated with them.

As she was brought into the fold, Beckett asked, "What kind of special events are we talking about?

"Fashion shows, gallery openings. Fundraisers. My mother loved her causes. Opera companies, environmental groups."

Castle, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito work on four different whiteboards, writing out charitable organizations below a list of the victims' names: Pastori, Bruner, Kesler, and Delgado.

Ryan said, "Why are we doing this, again?"

Beckett said, "Well, according to Mitchell, the shot caller who wanted the bump key had someone feeding him inside information about our victims."

Castle continued, "And Powell says the pieces of jewelry being stolen are the kind you save for special occasions."

Ryan said, "Special occasion like a charity event."

Esposito said, "So we find an organization that all of our victims supported..."

"...and we find our guy." Beckett finished.

They all stood back in a line and stared at the boards for a connection in their lists.

"Delgado and Pastori both gave to the Manhattan Opera Society."

Beckett said, "But not the last two victims, Espo."

Ryan said, "I got three families that donated to AIDS America: Delgado, Bruner, and Kesler."

Castle scanned the list, then said, "But not Pastori."

"Maybe Pastori was a guest of one of the other three victims." Esposito suggested.

"Mm-mmm. No. None of the families knew each other." Beckett replied.

Castle scanned the Bruner list, "Wait a second. M.A.D.T. That's the Metropolitan American Dance Theater."

Beckett who had the Delgado list replied, "Metropolitan American Dance Theater."

Esposito said, "Pastori has Metro American Dance."

Ryan said, "Under Kesler we have M.A.D.T."

"That's the non-profit our invaders are profiting from." Castle commented.

Beckett put down the marker, "Find out who's in charge and how I can find them.

Esposito said, "Right on.


	36. Chapter 36

_Hi, thank you for your reviews. Some of them really make my heart tell me its worth the effort. Today while I was waiting to be served, I was reading back through the earlier parts of this story – bits I wrote a while back and had forgotten, and I have to admit I enjoyed it. Fun when I can read my writing with fresh eyes. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I've had a lot of fun doing this part and what follows. It was a good ep/story line to have a bit of extra fun in between._

 **Chapter 36**

Castle was in front of the coffee machine, organizing a couple of mid-afternoon coffees. Double strength caffeine for Beckett with a dollop more of non-sugar vanilla, and a bit of extra real sugar for himself. It was needed. As the machine did its thing slurping and gurgling up the milk, Castle kept a vigil on Kate who was seated at her desk, more than busy with the keyboard. Man, was she pissed off at Anne Greene, the director of M.A.D.T. for not providing them with a list of charity members. With the strong instinct to protect the public from harm, Beckett had every right to be angry at the company director. There were times when confidentiality came second to safety and this was one of them.

Rick sighed with content. He privately loved it when Beckett got angry, so long as it wasn't with him. She was incredibly cute. The eyes narrowed, her brow knotted and the lips pressed. And if he was close enough he often saw the scar on her chin dimple. She was gorgeous when she was angry.

"Castle." Esposito blurted out from behind Castle who jumped a little. "What you looking at?"

Distracted, Rick turned his head and smirked at Esposito, a little worried he'd just been sprung admiring how cute his secret girlfriend looked when she was pissed off at someone else. "Oh, nothing, Espo. Just making coffee." He muttered.

"What's up with Beckett?" Espo stepped beside Castle to stare through the window at Beckett.

"She's a little mad. She didn't get what she wanted."

"You went to MADT as you planned?"

"We did." Rick replied.

"What you two staring at?" Ryan asked as he entered the break out room with a coffee mug in his hand.

"Beckett," Castle and Esposito replied. Ryan joined them and took up the same stare. His brow furrowed.

"Who's upset Beckett?" Ryan asked, "She looks pissed off."

"She is. A woman named Anne Greene, who is MADT's company's director." Castle replied. "Anne knows be because I once dated one of her friends. It got awkward between the ladies. But not because of that."

"I bet you loved that." Esposito commented.

Rick laughed, "A dispute between two head strong women? Bring on the popcorn. It was great. But she-" he pointed a finger towards Kate, "Was a fuming on the way back here. Got it in her head she has to get the list."

"Alrighty," Esposito replied, "Beckett fixated …"

"You got it," Rick replied.

Ryan poured himself a coffee. "She's giving that keyboard a beating."

Rick cleared his throat, "Yeah, imagine if she had boyfriend."

The boys laughed heartily then Ryan asked, "So how did the director get Beckett so wound up?"

"Greene insisted to Beckett that the donors on her list cherish their anonymity. According to Greene, they're contractually obligated to protect that." Castle explained, "And I understand that, but as Beckett said, it's a matter of life and death."

"So, they refused to hand you guys a donor list." Espo said.

"Yep. Anne Greene told Beckett should would need a court order so there she is tapping away. However, I have a better I idea." Castle smugly smiled as he picked up his freshly made coffees then headed towards the door.

At Beckett's desk, Rick placed a mug of coffee to her right on the desk, but didn't say a word, already fully aware it was not the time to disturb Kate. He sat on his chair. He quietly enjoyed the coffee, happy he had finally figured out the best tasting coffee for him from the machine. Now he had to just get Beckett's perfect. With a little bit of nudging later on, he would get out of her an assessment of his latest brew and he would then improve upon that next time. He was getting close to having the perfect coffee recipe for Kate.

As Ryan and Esposito returned to the breakout room Rick noticed a courier come from the elevator searching for someone. He immediately put down his coffee, got up and approached the biker, also making an effort to breathe through his mouth in case the guy didn't use deodorant. He got the guys attention and asked, "Dude, you looking for Richard?"  
The courier checked the envelope in his right hand, then looked up, "Castle? Yes, Sir I am."

He smiled and pointed at himself, "That's me."

"Cool." The scruffy guy handed over the yellow envelope and held out a hand held gadget. "Sign here." He pointed at the little screen and handed over a e-pen.

"Sure," Rick signed, "Thanks, Pal," he handed back the little machine and pen, smiled and watched as the courier guy turned and headed back to the elevator.

Beckett was still at her computer, still mad, as still writing up the affidavit. As Rick returned to the desk he extracted the contents of the envelope, checked the items then slipped them in his suit pocket. Ryan also approached Beckett's desk.

Ryan glanced at Castle who gave him the nod to procced, then said, "Beckett, we ran employees and volunteers. None have priors or records."

Beckett ignored him. Ryan leaned in, gave a wave and said, "Hello?"

Beckett raised a hand, shushed him, shooed him away. Ryan turned to Esposito. "What's she doing?"

Esposito replied, "Like Castle said, she's writing an affidavit for a court order."

Castle added, "That no one is going to sign." He leaned towards Becket and asked, "Did you see that list of Board members? Half the judges in town are on it."

Beckett flopped back in her seat, exasperated by the guys on her team, "What am I supposed to do, huh? Just let someone else die?" She put her hands into her hair, wishing this lousy case would be over soon.

Castle glanced at the guys as he said, "Whoa, hey, you seem a little stressed. Hey, you know what you need?"

Kate shot him a scornful look. "Don't tell me what I need."

"A night out on the town," he persisted light heartedly.

Beckett's brow tightened further which Rick didn't think was possible, but hell she looked cute, "A what now?"

He pulled two glossy tickets out of his jacket and gave them a shake a grin on his face.

"What are those?" Beckett asked.

Castle said, "The gateway to another world."

Beckett got nervous as Rick was going too fast for her to anticipate where his plan of action was headed, "Castle-," she warned.

"They hold four fundraisers a year, Kate. The last one took place a week before the robberies began."

Beckett shook her head, "No."

"It is perfect. You don't have to ask who the donors are, because they'll be there wearing their jewelry," he explained, wondering why the hell she wasn't springing onto this opportunity. Instead she looked worried.

Esposito interjected, "If the employees and volunteers are clean, then our perp-"

"Skell," Castle corrected.

Esposito continued, not amused, "...could be working the party."

"And we can work the door," Ryan suggested.

Castle nodded then said, "So, it's settled. Pick me up at eight?" He started for his coffee, wondering why she seemed a little anxious. Given a sip or two of his coffee, he paused, suddenly aware of why Kate was objecting. But just to make sure he had it right, he casually said, "Oh, it's a black tie event. That's not a problem, is it?"

Kate, who stared at Rick's eyes, trying to send him an SOS message replied, "Uh, no... No."

Castle smiled, fully conscious of her issues. He waved her farewell and headed out, leaving Beckett stunned.

In the elevator, Rick texted Kate on her special phone.

 _I will sort it out for you._

She instantly wrote back, _How?_

 _Trust me, Babe. Catch a cab to my place. C u at 8 pm._

* * *

As the door closed behind her, Kate discarded her bag on the couch, still a little frustrated about the overall day. It was gone six o'clock, she was hungry, wanted a drink, and in less than two hours she somehow had to be frocked up for a high society event. She was sure Rick would wear an expensive formal suit, probably a tuxedo, and fit right in. He had attended a couple events on his own since they had been dating. He had tried to have her join him but she didn't want to risk their affair being found out even though he thought they would be safe. It hadn't stopped her feeling jealous, that he was out without her and that he might meet another woman.

Apart from her trip to LA, she couldn't remember the last time she had needed a formal dress. There was a collection of bridesmaid dresses gathering dust in a bedroom cupboard, and she own a couple of standard black evening dress but nothing for a night out mixing it with the rich and possibly famous.

"Shit," she muttered as she continued across the living room towards the bedroom. "Damn you, Rick Castle." She scorned at a photo of them in a frame on her coffee table. Then a thought hit her like a freight train. She stopped dead. "Oh God." She glanced about the small living area of her one room apartment. There were bits and pieces of Castle throughout the home. Friends rarely visited, which enabled them to have the luxury of being themselves in her place. She glanced at the time. She had about ten minutes.

The private cell phone began to ting with a call. She picked up.

"Castle." She hissed.

"Kate." Rick calmly greeted, clearly taken aback by her tone, "Are you home?"

"Yes."

"You're angry."

"Yes."

"Arr… you're trying to be but you're sounding way to cute to really be mad at me," he smoothly said.

"No. I'm angry."

"Ok, well, I was calling to make sure you hide my stuff before Lanie gets there."

"No shit, Sherlock. You got a fucking camera set up in here?" She smirked to herself.

Rick started to laugh. "I would love to set up one in your bedroom."

She growled at his boyishness, "I bet you would," then smiled and said, "I gotta go. I don't know what to wear."

"No matter what, you will look beautiful."

"Rose colored glasses."

Rick chuckled, "Might be."

"I'll see you soon, lover boy." Kate hung up, picked up the photo frame then commenced a rapid collection of all evidence of Castle. There were post it notes scattered about the place, clothing in the bedroom, personal things in the bathroom and dishes in the kitchen all of which implied two. She hid everything into a box and concealed that in the coat rack by the front door then threw dishes in the dishwasher and turned that on. She finally hurried to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

"Wow," Lanie exclaimed as she followed Kate into her bedroom. She gazed about unaware Kate nervously glanced over her room hoping she had hidden every hint of Rick's existence in the room. "You have really made some changes in here, Kate."

Beckett smiled and replied, "Been adding a bit here and there." She adjusted the towel wrapped around her body then brushed her fingers through her curly wet hair. Some of the changes Lanie saw, were little gifts from Castle that no one would be able to label as his contributions. He'd bought shelving for her large array of shoes, mainly because he was afraid he would break his neck tripping on one, on the way to or from the bathroom.

Lanie pointed and Kate followed her gaze. The pink antique chair. Kate raised an eyebrow, and tried to remain nonchalant about her pink chair. She had forgotten that the rush to clear up. It was sitting there bare, but for a light pink cotton throw rug over its back.

"The chair. Oh my … Kate where did you find that chair?"

"Umm, a little place up State near my Dad's cabin."

She watched as Lanie approached the chair positioned in the corner on her side of the bed. She was a little taken aback when Lanie sat upon the seat. It was a piece she didn't care to share with anyone other than Rick.

"It's gorgeous, Kate." Lanie's fingers stroked the velvet. Kate's mind was filled with memories of herself and Rick busy on the chair. "So pretty."

"I love it," Kate commented.

"You know girl, if you played your cards right, you and writer boy could be making out on this chair like it was built for."

Kate coughed, "I don't think so, Lanie." She felt her cheeks blush.

"You know if he saw this chair…"

"Lanie, I have to find a dress to wear."

Lanie's eyes rolled. "Girl, you have this chair, which is perfect for …"

"Lanie. Focus. Dress. I have about forty five minutes left before I have to pick him up."

"He's not coming here?"

Kate's brow furrowed, "No way. Castle can't come here. He'd think it was an invitation …"

"And he would see the chair." Lanie stood up to join Kate who faced her wardrobe. The doctor scanned the dresses hanging. "Geez, Kate, we need to go shopping."

"Good idea."

She took a couple of dresses that Beckett handed her, then stepped back to the bed and sat upon the edge of it. "I don't think these two are contenders."

Kate glanced over her shoulder. "No, I will give them to charity." Beckett frantically tossed dresses out of her closet. One by one, Lanie inspected them as Kate held each up for viewing. There was a bright pink dress with puffy sleeves.

Lanie screwed up her nose then said, "No, no. Uh-uh. That one goes to the thrift store."

Beckett held up another dress this one bright and loud.

Lanie burst into laughter, "Whoa, Karma Chameleon."

Beckett tissed then replied, "The girl at Saks said fluorescent is in."

"Well then Kate, she was on commission."

Beckett threw that dress aside then showed the next one draping a sequined dress over her front.

Lanie said, "Uh-uh."

"Too Showgirls, Lan?"

Lanie nodded. Beckett sighed in frustration and dropped the dresses, suddenly stressed out to the maximum about going out in public with Rick. He was on the social lists, he was accustomed to going to these sort of functions and she didn't want other women judging her.

Beckett drew a panicked breath then said, "You know why he's trying to do? He wants to humiliate me."

"He wouldn't do that."

The doorbell buzzed. Kate glanced down at her body still wrapped in the white towel, no make-up on and her hair was damp.

Beckett said, "Lanie, can you get that, please?"

"Alright. But you better not be wearing your prom dress when I come back." She stood and headed out of the bedroom to answer the door. Alone, Beckett gazed into her closet and let out a frustrated groan. She wished Rick had given her a heads up on the invitation with enough time to buy a new dress.

Lanie returned to the bedroom carrying a large white box that appeared to be heavy.

"Who was it?"

"Delivery."

Kate turned her back on the cupboard with a mental note to herself to go shopping soon, and asked, "From who?"

Lanie said, "Let's find out. Courier didn't say."

She handed Beckett the box. Lanie opened the plain card on it. No signature.

Lanie read, "Bibbity-bobbity-boo?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, "Cinderella. It's from him."

Lanie said, "Oh, please. It's a dress. Now open it up, girlfriend."

Beckett mumbled as she lifted the large lid, "Oh! I knew he was arrogant, but this, this is complete..."

Beckett let the lid fall to the floor, then carefully pulled the tissue wrap aside, leaning in with Lanie, both inquisitive as to what was within. Lanie gasped when she sighted the contents.

Beckett tilted back, and with widened eyes, squeaked, "Oh."

"The greatest dress in the world," Lanie whispered.

Kate's fingertips lightly brushed the red and clear stones sown into the red dress. "The gems on it, Lanie," The ladies gently unfolded the gown from the box. It was of significant weight. Handmade. Stunning dress.

"It's gorgeous, Kate."

"It's so heavy," Kate said as she excitedly held the dress to her torso.

"Oh my God, Kate, it's a damn fine dress."

"What else is in the box?"

"Let's find out." Lanie reached into the box to lift out a red corset and heeled shoes. "He knows your size or he had a damn good guess."

Kate nervously looked from Lanie's eyes to the red satin stilettos and the gorgeous corset. Castle was well aware of what her sizes were. He'd already bought her clothing but nothing as extravagant as this number. "He's had plenty of women, Lanie. He would know my size looking at me."

"He got the heels right? Size 9?"

"Mmmhmm." Kate swallowed, aware she had just been gifted with a dress worth thousands of dollars. It brought on a whole new level of anxiety, completely independent of the anxiety she felt about the fund raising event they were going undercover to. She pushed it all down and focused on undercover. The evening was an undercover operation. Back to the dress, she looked at Lanie, "I think I might need help getting into it, Lanie."

"You've gone pale, Kate."

Kate paused, the anxiety once again on the rise, "Lanie, this dress is worth thousands."

"Could it be a rental?"

Kate shook her head as she cast her eyes over the fabric, the quality. Compared to the dresses she had hired in LA, the was out of the ball park, "He purchased it." To Kate that meant he intended for her to enjoy the dress, like a piece of jewelry.

"I told you he likes you." Lanie held out the corset. "Put this on first. You know he fantasizes about you."

She glared at her friend. "Shut up, Lanie. Maybe I fantasize about him, you know." She laid the dress on the bed then took the corset from her friend.

"Do you?"

"No." She glanced at Lanie whose expression told her she didn't believe a word. She sighed, "Ok, yes, I fantasize about him."

"That's better." Lanie smiled.

"About killing him." Kate smiled cheekily.

"Oh, c'mon Kate. Even I have to admit he has guest starred in a couple of my fantasies."

"Really?"

"You really looked at him?"

That's the second Kate couldn't hold her emotions in check any longer. She felt her cheeks brighten and her eyes must have glistened because Lanie laughed. It was the moment she would have dearly loved to share her secret with her best friend. That she was with Castle and he was making her so damn happy. But instead she took a deep breath then admitted, as she dropped the towel pulled herself into the corset, "Yes, okay. I have had dreams about him." She smiled at Lanie and turned about so Lanie could tighten the corset. "He is pretty hot." She confessed.

"You really need to let yourself have some fun with him." Lanie softly said as she drew in the lace. "I won't do this too tight."

"Thank you. I want to breathe." She fell quiet while Lanie set the corset in its proper place and adjusted the tie. Somewhere she had a need to share her secret with her best friend but she and Castle had made a pact not to tell anyone for now. It didn't ease the discomfort she felt as she cast her eyes down on the bodice of the piece. It was all she would wear beneath the dress as she knew the dress was going to be a tight fit. With nothing said she tugged the corset to where it was most comfortable before Lanie tied the bow.

Kate quickly fixed her hair and applied make up while the women talked. Kate received a text from Castle to tell her he had called his driver and booked the sedan that would be out front for her at 7.45. No need to catch a cab.

"He's ordered a car," she said and put the phone down. "He's really good like that, Lanie. Always considerate."

"I tell you, girl, you are crazy not to date him."

"Not ready, Lanie," she quietly replied and reached for the dress. "The car will be here in ten."

It took them longer to get her in the dress and manage to button it up than anticipated. As she stepped before the mirror, fully dressed and ready to leave, she couldn't help but feel pleased with what stared back at her. She was not going to feel out of place with the other guests. She would blend in.

"Its beautiful Kate. You look divine."

She smiled. "I really feel like a Princess, Lanie. Undercover Princess."

* * *

Martha opened the door and gasped when she saw Beckett in a beautiful red and gold evening gown. She checked Kate from head to two, "Stunning. Simply stunning. Come in, come in." She waved Kate into the left, backing up, "Richard, your date is here," she hollered over her shoulder.

"I'm not his date." Kate meekly replied, a hand lightly pressing to her abdomen. She was oddly nervous about seeing him, about him seeing her in a dress he chose.

Martha gave a dismissive wave of her hand, "I can't wait for him to see how lovely you look, Katherine. Oh! Hang on. Hang on."

Martha rushed off in the room leaving Kate standing before Alexis. Kate shyly looked at the younger red head.

Alexis said, "You look incredible."

Beckett stood looking uneasy in the expensive dress then fidgeted, "Really?"

Castle approached in a black dinner suit his smile broadening the closer he came. Kate felt all the oxygen leave her lungs, he looked that handsome. He came to a halt to the left of his daughter. "Really. You clean up nice, Detective Beckett."

Beckett instantly stood a little taller, aware he was behaving in front of his family, "Thank you, Castle."

Martha returned with a beautiful diamond and ruby necklace draped over her fingers she held out for Beckett to see. She said, "I was nominated for a, uh, Tony once, and..."

Beckett held up her hand, "Oh, no, Martha, I couldn't-"

"Yes, you can." Martha stepped behind Kate the jewelry circling her neck, "Let me see ..." she leaned around to assess the jewelry that Kate touched, her eyes on Rick who seemed calm. She fidgeted.

"Oh! It's brilliant." Martha stated then looked at Kate's eyes, "So, where are you guys headed tonight?"

Behind his mother and out of her eyeline, Castle waved trying to message Beckett not to tell her where they were going.

Beckett who glanced between mother and son, said, "Uh... Uh... Uh, we're going to the, uh, Waldorf."

Martha replied, "Uh-huh," and shot Rick a triumphant glare.

Kate thought Castle looked deflated. It was time to make a more, "The car is waiting Rick. Shall we go?"

"Let's do." He turned to Alexis, "I'll see you tomorrow, Sweetie. Have a good night." He kissed her forehead.

"Have fun undercover, Dad."

"I will. Can't wait. Feel like I'm James Bond."

Three sets of eyes rolled and Kate turned and walked out of the loft. "Good night ladies," she called back. She heard Rick follow, his house keys jangling as he hurried after her. Yes he did look like James Bond but a bloody good sort. Seeing him in a tux had turned her on so much so her body had other ideas about what they should be doing for the evening. Behind her she heard Rick following, the sexy grunt of his approval.

He crept up behind her and wrapped his left arm about her waist restraining her from continuing on. She laughed and tried to escape his grasp. She paused. "Castle."

"Mmm?"

She felt the vibration of his laughter, "We have to go." She reached to the wall and managed to hit the down button. "Stop making me laugh. I can't breathe."

The ride down the elevator was way too fast. The second the doors closed, and they were alone, shut off from the rest of the world, Castle swept in on his prey gently maneuvering her to the wall. With is face an inch from hers, his eyes looking straight into hers, he draw in a deep breath, absorbing her perfume, her scent.

"Miss Beckett." He began.

She excitedly glanced between his lips and eyes, and unconsciously bit her bottom lip. Her breaths were rapid. "Do you know how handsome you are?" She seductively asked touching his chin with a finger.

"Keep doing that and we won't get to the party." He responded his gaze on her lips.

"You bought me a dress."

"It's gorgeous on you. You should have been a model." He closed in the space between them and whispered into her right ear, "I want to kiss you, my beautiful creature."

"Kiss me, quick." She ordered and reached her palms to his cheeks. She got the kiss, and his hands slipped to her buttocks. It was a damn decent kiss. It only stopped with the elevator gave its familiar little bump when it reached the ground floor lobby.

When the doors opened, Rick ensured their arms were linked so Kate wouldn't trip.

As they walked to the entrance she paused them and stepped so she was in front of him, "You need to wipe your lips, Castle." He had red lipstick smeared over his lips.

"Not yet. We have a ten minute ride to the event. I haven't finished with you yet."

Kate squeezed his arm as they resumed the short walk to the waiting sedan. It might be an undercover operation they were embarking upon, but she really felt like they were on a real date, and she wanted as much of that as she could fit in before the job and their secret took precedence.

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

_Thank you for your reviews. Here is the next chapter and I must share that I enjoyed writing the chapters after this, once I was back on the in between stuff (fluff?). I'm struggling with time to write the past few weeks as in the process of changing of jobs. I'm hoping to post a couple of chapters this weekend as a lot of this is now written – just had to join the dots._

 **Chapter 37**

Esposito and Ryan stood at the side of the red carpet as security, and watched the guests arrive. Paparazzi were present, calling guest's names and snapping photos. Esposito held the sketch, checking it periodically to ensure he remembered.

Esposito said, "Man, these guys look guilty of tax evasion, not home invasion."

Ryan who kept a vigil on the guests that walked the carpet, replied, "Yeah, well...appearances can be deceiving." Another town car arrived coming to a stop at the curb. The rear door was opened. Ryan was expecting Castle and Beckett anytime.

Castle appeared from the black vehicle, buttoned his tuxedo as he took in the busy surroundings, then turned about reaching back inside the car. At the end of his arm, Kate appeared as she stepped out the town car with Rick's assistance. Ryan noticed that Rick kept a hold of Kate's hand while he waited for her to smooth her dress.

Ryan said to Esposito, "Look at that Javier, Rick's in a tuxedo and Kate's in a stunning gown. She really fits in."

"She looks fine."

"She does," Ryan replied, thinking they appeared very comfortable with each other, "Hey, do you reckon-"

"Castle and Beckett?" Espo queried, his expression clearly telling Ryan he was dreaming. "There's no way she would date him." He quietly stated then turned and smiled at the pair. "No way." He repeated.

"I'll win this bet." Ryan replied.

Looped around Castle's arm, the partners stepped into a spectacle of flashbulbs and cameramen calling Castle's name. It was a fairy-tale moment that excited Beckett, and reminded her of the business trip to Los Angeles. Castle took it all in his stride, obviously accustomed to being in the limelight, to the pageantry.

When they passed Ryan and Esposito, acknowledging them, Ryan said, "Nice dress, Kate."

Esposito added loud enough for Kate to hear, "Yeah, what there is of it."

Beckett, who behaved as a real princess, snapped back into cop mode and shot back, "I'd let you borrow it, Esposito, but you stretched out the last one."

Ryan chuckled, watching his superior officer and the writer enter the party. "Man, I wish we were going in there."

"Too upper class for me, Dude."

"No man, for the food. You see those trays going past."

"Well there will be plenty later. None of these women will eat in their frocks."

"Frocks?"

"What?" Esposito asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Evening dresses."

Beckett stopped the moment they entered the hall, temporarily overwhelmed by the magnitude of the event, the flamboyance of the guests, the quality of the gowns. She was sure she recognized a few people, celebrities.

With a pull on his hand from Kate's arm, Rick turned about casting his eyes over her face. He stepped

"What's up?"

She looked at his eyes, "Just the amount of indulgence."

"Not like the book launches, huh?"

She shook her head, "You are part of this world."

"No, not really, you know my world, c'mon. We have a job to do."

With a light squeeze of her hand, Castle turned about. They gradually weaved their way through the large group of high-society world guests. Constantly people nodded at Rick and they were stopped several times by other quests. Kate noticed women smiled at him and glared at her. She held his hand tighter. To Kate it was necessary that women in this group know Castle was taken and that she was the one who had possession. The hall was full of beautiful women in expensive dresses, with extraordinary jewelry. Kate felt she fitted in. Felt she was out of depths. Being taller than most of the women present, she knew she stood out. Castle lead her towards the mayor not letting go of hand once.

He let her go of her hand for the first time, when he reached the individual he had made a bee line to. He gave a friendly slap on the shoulder of a black man and loudly greeted, "Big cheese!"

The mayor turned about grinned, and exclaimed, "Ricky! Ricky! Hey! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be at this shindig? I would've given you a ride." The two men shook hands.

"Oh, last minute thing." Castle answered, "Listen, Mr Mayor, I'd like to present to you, Detective Kate Beckett. Kate Beckett, you know the Mayor." He smiled at Kate.

"So, this is Detective Beckett?" the Mayor inquired quite keen to meet her. He turned to completely face Kate giving her his full attention.

Beckett nervously smiled, "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Oh, please. Call me Bob," he replied then said, "Rick, she's even prettier than you said."

Castle smiled his face full of fondness, "Mmm-hmm. She's gorgeous, huh?"

Beckett widened her eyes at Castle. Another group hailed the Mayor.

"Excuse me a minute, Rick, Kate."

Castle said, "Of course."

As they moved on, Beckett turned to Castle and said, "You talked about me to Bob?"

Castle shrugged it off, "Well, we play cards together. Well, that, and you are the subject of my next book, so yeah, I guess we talked about you."

Beckett smiled, "Ah."

"Can I get you a drink?"

Beckett anxiously replied, "Yeah, Vodka. Lots of vodka. But I'm on duty, so water."

Castle chuckled about the water but nodded, "Yeah. Vodka."

As Castle headed for the bar, Beckett scanned the room, taking in all the opulent jewelry. She absently touched Martha's expensive necklace. Even though she kept her mind on the job it didn't stop her from feeling somewhat intimidated by all the beautiful ladies wearing their fine jewelry and dresses. Castle was right at home in this environment but she felt like she was in over her head.

Castle arrived at the bar, leaned against it and searched for a bar tender. With a couple of waves, He caught the attention of a barman, who approached wiping his hands on a tea towel.

"Hey, what can I get you?" The younger man asked.

"Could I get two very stiff vodka martinis? Don't shake them, just swirl them around a bit." Castle requested.

The bartender nodded, "Coming right up."

Rick glanced about him, mainly in search of any suspicious behavior amongst the guests, but also to check on Beckett who was simply stunning in the dress he had gifted her. Until he'd left her side it hadn't occurred to him that if he thought she looked breathtaking, there were quite a few single men attending this event would try and pick her up, get her number, or ask her out. He was so consumed with studying the men within Beckett's orbit, that the failed to notice a woman who sidled up to him. The bar was crowded bar and he would normally notice a pretty woman especially one paying him attention, but she brought his focus to herself. "Richard?"

"Yes?" He looked at the woman who was stunning.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, Rachel Maddox. We spoke on the phone."

Castle immediately knew who she was, and smiled, leaning in, "Oh, yes. Great to meet you, and thank you very much for getting me the tickets."

"Thanks for the signed first edition for the auction," she replied.

A man poked his face into their space which caused Rick to step back a little, just as he was about to ask Rachel something but the stranger said, "I had my eye on it, but it's probably too rich for my blood."

Rachel who also moved aside a little, rested her hand to the man's upper arm, "Oh! My boyfriend, Paul Reynolds. He is a huge fan," she told the writer.

Castle smiled, shook Paul's hand, "Oh, always nice to meet a fan."

Back across the room, Beckett had noticed Rachel and Castle talking, their heads too close together but were probably struggling to hear each other over the noise of others talking and the live music. She felt the presence of someone close, looked about and saw a brunette woman, almost as tall as she was, and quite attractive who clearly wanted to talk.

"Don't sweat it." The woman said, touching Kate's upper arm, and gazing towards Castle. Kate followed her cue. "That's just Rachel, Anne's Head of Development. She's only after his money - so to speak."

Kate sensed that the woman who spoke to her was the kind of girl that made a new best friend every time she got on a plane or attended a yoga class. She extended her hand and Kate shook it, smiling.

"Oh, I'm Ruthie."

Beckett immediately replied, "Um, Beck-" She quickly got flustered, corrected herself, "I'm Kate. Nice to meet you. Do you work for the charity?"

"No. No. But I am on the circuit. You know, breast cancer, land mines. Oh, you know what the best one is? Um, uh, that project what do you call it - the one with the lips? There are a lot of, uh, plastic surgeons there. Fish in a barrel."

Beckett's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Mm. Oh! Not that you need any help from me." She offered her eye line once again shifting in the direction of Castle who held two martini glasses and seemed to have escaped the woman, "I see you've got a big one on the line. Settle in, Katie. I hear he's a fighter."

"Um..." Beckett uncomfortably glanced between Ruthie and Castle, who was also caught up in conversation with a very pretty woman. She was completely uncertain of the subject she was engaged in with Ruthie and kind of bent her wrist in Castle's general direction, "Sorry, Castle?"

Ruthie nodded, "Oh yeah, most of the girls on the register have tried to land him. Rich and handsome. We call him _The White Whale_."

Beckett, wavered between amusement and nausea. The White Whale. She smiled thinking about them in the bedroom, also unsure about where to go with the conversation because for her she had a completely different reference point to white whale. Instead, she kind of pointed in Rick's general direction. "I've better go, that way." She said and began to walk towards Rick who suddenly dumped the drinks he'd ordered. She touched an unseen earbud in her ear, put her wrist to her mouth and said, "Negative on anyone matching our sketch. How are we doing on vendors and staff?"

Esposito replied via the ear bud, "No red flags yet."

"None here yet."

"Hey, so what's it like in there? Is it a buffet or passed hors d'oeuvres?" Espo asked.

Beckett replied, "Both. But there's no room in this dress for me to eat anything. Hey, have you seen, uh..." she cried out in surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by Castle, who pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Dance," he ordered, stabilizing her body within his embrace.

"Castle, what are you doing?" She had grasped him by the shoulder then relaxed and accepted him as the lead, trusting him.

"Sorry, but this is the only place I knew we could talk and not be overheard."

Beckett frowned, looked at his eyes, casting their way around the hall, "Sure it is."

"I was just talking to the Head of Donor Development over there." Castle twirled Beckett out so she could see Ruthie, then pulled her back in to his arms. "She seems to know an awful lot about me." He stated.

"She's not the only one," Kate replied, "Did you know that they call you the _White Whale_?"

"The _White Whale_?" He gave her a confused look.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Not Moby?"

"No," Becket replied, "She's in Donor Development. It's her job to know about you. Besides, she doesn't strike me as a criminal mastermind."

Castle said, "Still, I think we should take a second look. Two, three, dip..." He dipped her right over and both looked in the same direction. But then Rick froze, leaving Kate dipped. What Castle saw that Kate couldn't at her position, was Caine Powell moving through the crowd. Powell cracked up a conversation with Anne Greene.

"Castle?" Beckett growled, "A little help?"

Castle said through gritted teeth, "It's Powell." He snapped back to reality, and with ease, lifted Beckett upright to her feet. She grabbed his shoulder and immediately searched where Rick's vision was directed.

"The jewel thief?" She asked.

Castle walked off the dance floor with a determined stride. Left alone on the dance floor, Beckett quickly became aware that female eyes were on her, that it appeared they had had a tiff and he's had stormed off. Castle snaked through the crowd and Kate hurried after him.

He caught up with Anne Greene and Powell in mid-conspire, and said "I don't believe this. The two of you are in on it?"

Their startled faces had guilt written all over them.

"Don't look at me. It was his idea." Anne replied.

"You really had me going, didn't you, Powell. The wine, the cheese, the Code of Conduct. And here you are, making me look the fool." Castle stated.

Powell who couldn't help but chuckle said, "I just wanted to have a bit of fun, Son."

"Fun? You call what you're doing fun?"

Beckett arrived shouldering Rick, "Castle, what's going on?"

Castle frowned, and said, "They're in on it together. They've all but admitted it."

Anne appeared a little confused, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea it was such a big deal."

"Big d...? Two people are dead!" Rick squawked and immediately saw the confusion deepen on Anne's face. He looked at Powell and saw the same expression.

"Dead? What's he talking about?" Anne asked.

Powell said, "Good lord, Rick. You didn't think...?"

"Then... what were you two whispering about Caine?"

Powell nodded across the way to a stage, where Rachel stood before the crowd.

Rachel cleared her throat into the microphone and waited for the guests to quieten and direct their attention to her, "Thank you all for coming tonight. And now it's time for all of us to open our hearts as we auction off some of the city's finest items for one of the finest causes. To start the bidding, please welcome Martha Rodgers!"

Polite applause filled the hall as Castle's Mother walked onto the stage. He immediately tensed and glanced to Kate, then Powell, "What have you done, Powell?"

Powell smirked, "Just a little payback, my friend."

Martha who had taken over the microphone like a seasoned speaker, began, "Thank you for that warm welcome. The first item on our list is a signed first edition of Storm Season, written by, well, by my son. There he is." Martha pointed towards her son, and someone shined the spotlight on him. Martha said, "Wave, darling, so everyone one can see you. Oh, isn't he handsome? My still single son, ladies. So, as a special bonus, the winning bidder will also receive an enchanting evening in his company. Alright, ladies, that's the best I can do. The rest is up to you. Do we have an opening bid?"

The crowd loved Martha. So did Beckett. This is the most fun she'd had in a long time, watching as gold diggers and old biddies placed bids for a date with Castle. Powell smirked.

"Twenty-five hundred!" Ruthie called out.

Martha said, "Two thousand five hundred from the beautiful lady in blue. Thank you so much. Do we hear three thousand?" She scanned the crowd for raised hands. "Three thousand?" She repeated, "Girls, don't be shy. We have a gentleman bidder. Oh, and isn't he attractive?" She remarked smiling.

The gentleman a in a perfect tuxedo with a neatly kept dark beard, raised his glass to Castle who immediately clenched his teeth and put his fingers against Kate's lower back.

Martha said, "Oh, my goodness! Aren't we broad-minded?"

A woman shouted out, "Four thousand."

Kate's eyes darted across the room to a brunette woman, a very pretty woman. That's when the jealousy poked at her amusement and took control of her thoughts.

Martha said, "Oh, there we have it. Four thousand. Alright, ladies. The gauntlet is down. And this is the most..."

Powell smugly smiled at the writer, "Now, we're even."

Castle turned to Beckett and hissed, "Look, I have money. Anything you pay, I'll pay you back."

Beckett who was dealing with the new emotions, but maintained a façade of being quite entertained, by the auction, replied, "Oh, not a chance in hell, Castle."

Over Beckett's shoulder, Castle's eyes landed on Paul, Rachel's boyfriend. "Hey, look. There's donor girl's boyfriend."

"So?" Beckett replied not willing to be distracted by his observations.

"So, he's taking pictures."

Beckett said, "So? I would, too, if I had a camera."

"Of the crowd?"

"Huh?" That got Beckett's attention. She saw that all the guests' eyes were directed toward the stage. With the wealthy guests distracted, Paul was able to take pictures, using his phone, without being noticed. She followed Rick through weaving through the crowd.

"Seven thousand." A woman shouted out.

"Seven thousand." Martha repeated, "Going one!"

Kate pulled Rick to a stop and looked over her shoulder at Martha, "Seven thousand?" She whispered, then looked at her boyfriend's eyes, "I don't want you going out with another woman. You're my boyfriend."

"Now!" He ordered, "Please."

"Seven thousand," Martha called out, "Going twice!"

Kate raised a hand and shouted, "Raise it by five hundred."

"Oh perfect! The lovely brunette." She called out, "Going once." Martha waited.

"C'mon." Kate pleaded.

"Going twice. Sold for seven thousand five hundred! Splendid!" Martha beamed, more than happy the detective had won the bid.

As Kate hurriedly followed Rick, she squeezed his hand and squeaked, "You have a debt."

"Thank fucking God it's with you." He shot back over his shoulder.

Kate spoke into a microphone. "We need back up inside, guys."

In a quiet spot, away from the crowd being entertained, Paul and Rachel chatted with an older woman who had a quarter million dollars worth of ice hanging from her neck. Beckett and Castle approached followed closely by Ryan and Esposito.

"Now, it does no good to be coy. I've seen the looks you've been throwing me all night." Paul said to Rachel.

As Castle approached he said, "Shopping, are we?"

Paul looked up, Rachel looked confused. Beckett flashed her NYPD badge.

"Paul Reynolds, you're under arrest on suspicion of theft and conspiracy to commit murder." Beckett said.

Ryan and Esposito move in to cuff him

Esposito said, "Let's go.

Castle turned to Beckett. "Where was the badge?"

Beckett smirked and replied, "Don't ask."

 _TBC_


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

"Why would you do that to yourself?" Rick mumbled watching the early morning joggers flash by.

"Do what?"

"Go jogging." He wasn't a fan of running, knew Kate enjoyed a good run, but he preferred to skate. In fact, it was one of several activities he shared with his daughter. But not running.

"For me, it clears my head. Keeps me fit."

"Too early to jog." He commented glancing at the time. "After a night like last night, I would usually be doing the walk of shame about now, not going out jogging."

Kate smirked, "You do the walk of shame most mornings."

He laughed. "True. I would have liked taking you home last night."

"I bet."

"You looked gorgeous by the way, but I can't believe you changed back into your street clothes."

"Castle."

"Mmm." He ignored her tone of warning partially because he was distracted by a rogue spring in the car seat digging into his ass. He fidgeted as Kate slowed the vehicle to take a turn to avoid it.

Beckett smirked, "Castle, do you really think I would interrogate someone in that dress?"

"Me and the guys –?"

"Mm?"

"We were kind of hoping," he replied pressing his lips together. The damn spring was driving him nuts, more so every time she turned the car right that morning. Again, he fidgeted and tried to refocus his attention. "I mean, you washed off your party make-up, you've tried to comb out your hairdo and now your curls are forcing re-entry into the world in some crazy way." He reached out, catching a loop of hair between his fingers. "You in that dress-"

She momentarily put her hand up to his aware he was in his own little world. "Thank you," she murmured and returned her hand to the steering wheel.

He dropped his hand, looked out front. Morning traffic was already on the rise. "What happened to the dress?"

"Its locked up at the precinct." She gritted her teeth, "Its probably worth more than a small car."

"True. Certainly worth more than this one." He growled in discomfort as he shifted his ass.

"I will get it fixed." She felt guilty he was getting poked in the butt.

"Good. I will book the car into the garage when we get back to the Precinct." He said.

"Good idea."

"How did you get out of it?"

"The dress?"

"Mmm, also the corset?"

"Kapowski helped me. It was just as hard to get out of it as into it."

"Oh." He sighed, "I was dying to take you out of that dress, Kate."

She glanced to him, gave him a smile, "Mm. I know, and I would like that too."

"It will happen."

"Want it a lot."

Rick gave her thigh a stroke, "I look forward to it. And it will be special." He fell silent for a moment or two then said, "Paul Reynolds, it didn't take much for him to squeal like a pig."

"He was easy," Kate agreed.

"He crumbled. Let's hope he got the guy's whereabouts right. I could really do with some sleep."

"Me too." Beckett glanced out the window searching for a street number. "I think we're here."

"Yep that's it." Rick pointed to the building ahead to their left. "So, you have a date with me and I now owe seven and a half grand."

"I'm worth it," Beckett replied with a cheeky smile that caused him to laugh.

"Shouldn't I be saying that?"

"Yes, it was you up for sale. I would pay it, particularly now I've had a taste of the goods, my White Whale." She snickered, reaching a hand to his groin.

"White whale? Oh, you love that one." He looked down at her hand, tried his hardest not to respond.

"I'm never gonna forget that one. Castle," she cooed.

"I know. However, I would pay a lot more to date you for one day."

Kate slowed the car, aware they were close to their destination, her eyes momentarily leaving the road to look at him. "I would too."

The unmarked police car came to a halt curbside, in front of an apartment building and three other vehicles pulled up behind. Immediately Esposito and Ryan exited their vehicle, getting their vests from the back seat.

Beckett released her seatbelt and then checked her gun, "Castle, as a friend, I am asking you not to leave this car. Because your little Hardy Boy act-"

"-is gonna get me killed, I know." He finished.

"More like get one of them killed." She paused, glancing in the rear vision mirror at other half of her team "And I can't have that on my conscience. Understood?"

"What if I have to pee?"

Beckett frowned, reached to an empty coffee cup that she had left on the dash and handed it to him. He inspected the cup as Beckett got out the car.

"It not big enough." He muttered and dropped the cup to the floor between his shoes. He watched his team gather make their way to the building's entrances partially annoyed that he wasn't one of them, a real cop carrying a weapon. Beckett's team took the front entry. He sighed, resigned to the fact he had to remain within the car, then looked about his immediate surroundings in search of something to pass the time.

Close to five minutes later, Castle obediently remained seated in the unmarked Police Unit but had scrambled over to the driver's side. Tired of waiting for his team to claim the suspect and return, he became rather distracted now he had the car to himself. Captivated within his own world, he pretended he was involved in a car chase and hummed an action-hero theme music.

"Pum-num-nah-nah-nah-num-nah-nah. Pum-num-nah-nah nah-nAAH. De-nah-num-nah -NAAAH." He grinned totally into it. He was having too much fun for a guy his age when WHAM!

A body heavily fell onto the car hood with a loud thud. Rick jumped in surprise as the man rolled to his stomach releasing a painful groan, "Oh God."

Castle was face-to-face with a man's round balding head. The stranger stared into the car. The writer recognized him as the man from the police sketch, a copy of which happened to be stuck to the dash. Rick looked at Nadir, then at the sketch. Yep. That's the guy. Castle did the only thing he could think of with a guy glaring at him through the windshield. He turned on the wipers. The wipers smacked Nadir's beady-eyed face. Nadir grunted and rolled off the hood to the driver's side. On his feet, he levelled his gun at Castle.

"Out of the car!" Nadir yelled.

Castle, a little taken aback, but still able to think about the situation, stared down the barrel of Nadir's piece. He thought about Beckett's clear orders not to leave the vehicle, contemplated the safer option. Beginning to panic he spluttered out, "I... She told me. Actually, I have to stay in the-"

"Out of the car now!" Nadir screeched.

"Okay! Okay, okay!" Castle raised his hands above his shoulders and fearfully replied, "Here I come. I'm coming." He watched the man, as he slowly lowered his arm to the door handle. He started to open the car door and then slammed his shoulder into it. The door collected with Nadir, knocking him back. Castle flung himself out of the car and jumped Nadir knocking him to the bitumen ground. They tumbled over the ground, with Nadir ending on top. He flung a punch at Castle landing in his left eye. Rick covered his face preventing another punch and Nadir reached for the gun just out of reach.

Above them, Beckett stepped on Nadir's wrist holding him down and finishing the fight. The detective glared down at Nadir brown eyes. "Go ahead. I need the practice."

Nadir released the gun when Kate pressed her weight into her foot. He cried out, "Ow. Ow. Ah."

Ryan and Esposito closed in to help Kate with Nadir.

"We got him." Esposito said as he and Ryan lifted the man off Castle.

Ryan said, "Get up!" They got him to his feet and hauled him away. Beckett offered her hand for Rick to help him up.

"I tried to stay in the car. I really did." He told her as he stood up, "He hit me in the face, you know."

Beckett replied, "Yeah, I saw that."

Castle said as he dusted himself off, " _That, uh, 'Go ahead. I need the practice.'_ That was classic."

Beckett smirked and rolled her eyes. "Let's get back to the Precinct and let Joanne know we arrested her mother's killer."

"Great idea."

"Let me see, Rick." She insisted taking hold of his forearm. She stepped in close and reached her fingers to his left eye, to inspect the wound.

"It does hurt." He mumbled using a tone that told her not to be rough.

"You're being a baby." She murmured as she examined him, "You'll be okay with some ice on it." She smiled, glanced about to ensure the boys were busy with the criminal then said so only Rick would hear, "I would love to kiss it better for you."

He smiled, then grimaced, "I would love you to do that." He too checked where the boys were. "I got in a fight." He beamed.

"Jesus, Castle." Kate patted his shoulder, turned and walked towards the car.

They parted company at the Precinct when Beckett left to meet the Joanne to hand over a few possessions retained by the NYPD that were no longer needed. Castle went home quite hungry, and on the way decided to cook eggs for breakfast for Alexis and his mother. He had showered and was sporting an excellent bruise around his left eye.

Martha said, "Darling, we have a visitor.

Beckett walked into the kitchen. Castle looked up from the stove smiling.

"You have a nice shiner going," Beckett said, a smile spreading. "Oh, pretty butch, Castle."

"I know, right?" He reached out for her, "Come, grab a chair."

"Oh, no." Kate glanced to his hand on her upper arm, then shot him a look a she said, "I just came to return your mom's jewel-"

"You saved my life, Beckett. The least I can do is make you some eggs."

Beckett said, "No, really, I- I have to get going..."

Martha said, "Nonsense. You sit down right here. Tell us all about last night. We've only heard his version."

Martha tenderly steered Beckett to the table. Alexis poured another mug of coffee.

Beckett said, "Alright. Um... Shall I begin at the red carpet?"

Alexis nodded keenly, "Yes, please."

Beckett took a breath then began, "So, we arrived at the venue via the sedan and it was like being at a movie premiere."

"Wait till you go to a book launch," Rick butted in.

"Dad." Alexis scorned.

"Okay, I'll do the eggs. Soft or hard?"

"Soft please." Kate replied then turned her attention to the women who keenly waited to hear her side of their previous night.

As Kate finished Rick prepared another brew of fresh coffee. The machine did its job. Rick took a minute break, leaned at the counter and momentarily stared at Kate, silently asking her if she agreed to telling the family their secret. She returned his look, blinked then nodded.

"I think it's time," she said to him.

He immediately smiled, wiped his hand over the counter top. "Mother, daughter. We need to tell you something," he said waving a hand between himself and Kate who turned in her stool and nodded in agreement.

"About time you two came out," Martha commented.

Kate looked at his mother in surprise, "You know?"

"I know."

Rick had to clarify, "You know that Kate and I are dating?"

"You and Kate?" Alexis asked in shock, "I thought it was the new owner of the apartment on level 4."

"What?" Rick asked in disbelief, "Arr, yes! The brunette with the big-"

"That's the one." Alexis cut in, "Totally your type, Dad."

"He's with me." Kate declared glancing at her small breasts that he happened to be very fond of.

"Darling, you two have been sneaking around for a while now." Martha chipped in.

"You knew Gran? I didn't have a clue!" Alexis declared, glancing between her father and the detective.

"You've been busy with school." Castle replied.

"Sneaking around?" Kate asked.

"Katherine, never mind if you've been keeping it quiet, my son is happy and I've noticed." Martha smiled, "Welcome to our little family." She stepped to Kate for a hug.

"Thank you, Martha, but we have to continue to keep this a secret within this family. I will tell my Dad but it stops there."

"Yes." Rick confirmed, "This goes no further than this room until we tell both of you it's okay. Is that clear?"

"Sure," Alexis replied, "If a teacher gives me her phone number …"

"Don't take it. They shouldn't do it anyway. I'm happily single to anyone who wants to know. Mother."

"I know, Richard. Don't share with anyone."

"We won't be able to work together." Kate explained. "We don't want to lose that."

"So, it's your stuff in my Dad's bathroom?" Alexis asked.

"Yes," Kate replied, glancing to Rick unsure about Alexis' query. "It is." She picked up Martha's plate and piled it on hers, standing up. She questioned internally how much Alexis had seen. She said quietly, "I'll help clean up and then I'm going to head off home to go to bed. We've been up, what close to 36 hours?"

"Yep." Rick agreed as he grabbed dirty dishes from the counter.

"You two go." Martha said. "I'll clean up. You did the cooking."

Rick and Kate loaded the dishwasher with what dishes they had collected. He then ushered Kate from the kitchen, took hold of her hand and led her to the office closing the door behind them.

"There's no privacy in here," he muttered and continued to the bedroom, closing that door too. Alone, he turned about facing Kate. "Please sleep with me here. Its Saturday and we don't have to work all weekend."

"Castle-" she went to say she wanted to be at home, but then she looked at him and decided it was him she wanted, his company, his presence. She bit her lip as she glanced towards the bed she looked forward to getting in.

"They know about us now so we can be ourselves here," he reminded her. "This is your home here too now."

She smiled and nodded, "This week, will you come with me to meet my Dad?" She took his other hand in hers and swung their arms. "It's time."

"Of course. Yes," he replied and leaned in for a kiss.

"Cool." She let him go to pull off her jeans and boots. Without a word, she lifted her left leg and Rick pulled off the boot. She swapped legs and he pulled off the second boot. He paired them and gave her the shoes. "Thank you."

"Want help with the rest, because I can-" he eyed off her clothing as she shook her head.

"I'm good." She replied, undid her jeans and slipped them down over her hips and thighs.

"You sure, I'm good at that."

"I know." She laughed, pushing the jeans right off. "Come for a shower?" She invited and headed towards the en-suite looking over her shoulder at him as she walked away. Seconds later, she seductively called, "Castle."

"Coming." While he followed, he pulled off his top and slung it back over the bed.

The shower was running when he left two towels on the vanity. Kate was naked, adjusting the faucet to a temperature that she liked. She glanced around to see his naked form, primed to have her.

"Really?" She inquired, her eyes not leaving his erection.

Kate stepped into the shower, beneath the water. She turned about and stretched out her arms inviting Rick in. He stepped into the shower, reached around Kate and picked her up against his body. She squealed in surprise then laughed grabbing him around his neck.

"Castle."

"Shut up woman and kiss mm like you'll die tonight."

She sobered, looked into his eyes then smiled, "Okay." She kissed him hard. Imaging it would be the last time she ever kissed him.

He woke her with a finger that lightly swept back strands of dark hair from her face. A smile broke when he saw her eyelashes half blink and her fingers moved. He then kissed her temple, listened to her breathing pattern alter, a moan of delight she was coming to escaped him. Another press to her temple.

"Katie?"

"Mm?"

He watched her pretend to be asleep. He couldn't restrain from asking, "You sleeping?"

"Yes," she squeaked and smiled.

He smirked. "Ok. Well, sleeping Kate has an hour to get ready in that dress before the car is due to arrive."

"That dress is at home," was muttered as she tightened up in a ball to sleep more.

"Dress is here."

"Car?"

"Fifty-nine minutes it will be here."

"Make up? Hair?"

"All here, Honey."

She opened her eyes which made him smile more, "You slept like a baby all day while I collected the stuff from your place."

"You expect me to be ready in fifty-nine minutes? In that dress?"

"I do."

"Where are we going?"

"On a date. Fifty eight minutes." He rolled off the bed dragging the bedsheets off Kate who was now fully awake. She hurtled herself to the bathroom like she was going to be sick.

She yelled out moments after, "I need help getting in the dress."

"I know. I will help you."

"I read about this place in one of the New York magazines." Kate said as the waiter left their table. "Everyone mentions the ambience and how romantic it is."

"One if by Land, Two if by Sea." Rick said staring at his beautiful girlfriend. She wore the red gown, and tonight her hair was up. She wore the diamond earrings he had gifted her to go with the dress along with his mother's necklace again. "It was once Aaron Burr's carriage house."

"Its lovely," she said as she gazed about at the flowers surrounding them. They were warmed by dual fireplaces and lulled by the mellow music of the resident pianist.

"If I could tear my attention away from you."

"Castle." She smirked aware he teased, and felt her cheeks heat up. "Where did you find this dress?"

"Oh, I saw it a couple of weeks ago in a window when I was walking to meet you somewhere. I went back the next day to have a good look at it with you in mind. Then I had to find the shoes to go with it."

"How did you know my size?" She teased, well aware of how much he knew about her.

"I'm a writer, I observe. You have size 9 feet and he held his hands apart, "about this size for a dress." He smiled then laughed with her.

The wine had hit Kate a little while back. She was relaxed and listened to the piano being played by a bloke in his middle forties. Another couple, a little older than them, danced by the black grand piano in time to the ballad he played. She was familiar with the tune but it wouldn't come to her what piece he played.

She looked at Rick, reached out for his hand that rested on the table.

"Will you dance with me?" She asked.

Rick's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Of course. After last night, I didn't think for a second you would like to-" He stood up and held out his hand. "Would you like to dance with me, Kate?"

"I would love to dance with you." She accepted his hand and stood, ensuring the fabric of her dress was safe of her stilettos and chair. The dress was worth a fortune. She would always keep it and care for it.

She walked with him towards the piano where he then smoothly gathered her into his hold. She didn't know the music the pianist played, and she lost all awareness of other people in the restaurant. The noise of the kitchen was out of her mind. She was brought softly against his body with a palm pressed to the small of her back her right hand in his. His forehead lowered to her hairline and his eyes penetrated hers. Castle led the dance, slowly rocking them to the ballad, careful not to tread on her toes, and trusting him she became the submissive partner. She felt the warmth of his body, his breath on her face. His hand at her back was warm, his embrace secure but soft enough for her to freely move with him. The scent of him and his cologne was glorious. The wine had relaxed her. Images of his making love to her that morning came back and the motion of dancing so close with him brought on a wave of emotions. When she looked up at his eyes again she whispered, "Kiss me."

He gave her bodice a tiny squeeze as he searched about them, only saw a bunch of other diners minding their own business, a few waiters doing their job, and he smiled softly when his eyes returned to her, "We're in public."

"There's no one here but us and a pianist," she replied, reaching her left arm around his shoulders.

He inhaled deeper, peering into the top of the dress, aware there was nothing beneath it but Kate, "What if someone has recognised me?"

"Then we're blown, but you have to kiss me," she urged, "because you brought me here on a date, Mr Castle, and we won't ever have this night here again."

"I'll bring you back here."

"Another night, but its right now." She smiled gazing into his blue eyes.

"Oh." He realised she wanted the romance in their evening and that was fair enough and mutual. He playfully squeezed her against him.

She gasped, then requested, "Kiss."

"Yes, ma'am." He kissed her. Both seemed to forget where they were. Her arms lifted around his neck and his arms loop about her waist. And they danced to the music the pianist created until he called his final tune to play.

"So beautiful," he whispered then kissed her right shoulder as she partially turned her head to see him. He knew she wasn't accustomed to a man's undivided attention. An entire evening together without interference and interruption had, to Rick, been beneficial to them. They had agreed that date nights would be done without mobile phones. He would carry one to order a taxi or sedan to/from their date. She stayed still, processing what he was doing, how the kisses felt, how his hands felt holding her bare arms. Then he began to untie the corset of the red dress, gently tugged at the laces releasing her body of its constriction.

"This dress. It's gorgeous." Kate said peering down upon the stones sewn to the fabric. "Are these real gem stones?"

"Of course. I listed this dress into my insurance policy," he said, trying not to laugh when Kate gasped in disbelief.

"No way!"

"Seriously."

She wriggled about, "Can we get this off? I'm busting to use the bathroom."

"Hold still." He gently said as he took hold of the top of the dress. He pushed it over her hips then guided it down her body until she could step out it. She then made a run for the bathroom. She hadn't been since before they had left the house. He lifted the dress up to lay it over the trunk at the end of the bed.

"It weighs a tonne." He called out.

"I know."

Rick undid his tie and left it on the dresser as he walked out of the bedroom. On his way to the kitchen he extracted the cuff links and slipped them into the right pocket of his pants. He was a happy man. He had taken his girlfriend out on a date that had been a splendid time. She had looked gorgeous in the gown, the damn expensive gown she couldn't go to the bathroom in, the dress she had danced with him in. He fetched two champagne glasses and a small bottle of champagne from the fridge. Kate's fridge had fresh food in it lately, since he'd been dating her so when he stayed over, he had something to cook. The lid was unscrewed and he set the bottle down to breathe. His shirt was unbuttoned half way down his chest and he rolled up the sleeves. Beckett kept her apartment warm. The glasses were filled with golden bubbly liquid. When he saw movement, he looked up. Beckett was standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She wore a sheer black silk robe, the stockings, and panties she been in all night. His tie was hanging around her neck. Her hair was down, her nipples were hardened. He smiled, the image of her burned into his memory forever.

"Feel better?" He inquired.

She giggled. "A lot."

He picked up the glasses, walked towards her meeting her half way across the living room. He passed her a glass.

"You know we're making love." He said, casting his eyes over her almost naked form.

"Haven't we been making love all evening, Ricky?" She stepped forward, closing the space between them.

"All evening?" He pressed her to tell him more.

She bit her lip, gazed passed him to the ceiling her eyes glistening, "You woke me so sweetly," she offered up, "You dressed me in that stunning dress, took me out for a beautiful dinner."

"It was a good meal," he concurred at which she laughed. He took a sip of his drink.

"You danced with me, slow danced." She glanced down to his hand that brushed her left nipple. "Writer boy, you are so romantic."

"I'm not finished yet, Kate."

"How so?"

"Well, I woke you with a stroke of my finger, a press of my lips," he paused, licked his lips, made sure he looked at her in a way that would make her feel he wanted to consume her, "And at the end of this day, our day, I will put you to sleep with a stroke of my finger, a press of my lips."

"Wow," she whispered, "Castle." She hooked a finger behind the buckle of his belt and tugged him to follow. "Come to bed, Ricky. Tomorrow is Sunday."

Rick checked the clock on the wall, "Actually, its Sunday," he corrected, caught the look she gave him and forgot everything to follow her.


	39. Chapter 39

_Another little in between story, kind of continuing from the previous theme …._

 **Chapter 39**

"Are you sure I look alright?" Rick asked as Kate got out the car, the door opened by him.

She pulled her jacket tight over her chest to keep out the cold. The unusual insecure behavior had her smile in amusement. All this emotion spent over meeting her father caused her to appreciate how he really did only see himself as a usual guy, with a great career. Only to provoking his inferiority complex, she made a point of visually assessing his clothing from head to toe. A contemplative expression formed over her face to rattle him more, even though she thought he looked exceptionally handsome in his blue cotton knitted sweater.

He frowned, glanced down then looked back at her eyes, seemingly aware she teased him. "Kate." He stressed.

She smiled, "Rick, it's my Dad, not the President. C'mon." She took hold of his hand quite firmly, as he locked the car. The neighborhood was quiet secluded compared to the city streets. He pulled her to a halt, brought himself closer to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him the kiss he sought.

"We've done a lot of this today." She murmured.

"Kissing?" He smiled. "Your lips are swollen from my stubble."

"Mm." She sighed, stroked the back of his head, "Rick, my Dad will like you. I don't usually introduce my boyfriends to him, so he will know you're a serious contender."

His brow furrowed, "Serious contender? You told me six months."

"I still stand by that. Keep the date diarized."

He bobbed his head, "I will."

She smirked. "We had a great weekend."

"We did, and now I have to meet your father. He's a lawyer and I'm just a writer."

"New York Times best seller author." She gave him another kiss before she led Rick up the drive way to the veranda of her father's home. She hadn't lived in this house much more than a night here or there. When her mother had been alive, the family had lived in an apartment not far from where she lived. Her father had moved out to the suburb a few years back once he had decided the city wasn't for him anymore. Nowadays he did the transit to and from the city for work.

"Cute house." Castle muttered slowing down to take in the sight of the white weatherboard town house.

"It's okay. Lovely inside. When he moved here he changed all the furniture. Said he needed to start afresh."

"Fair enough. You have some of her things?"

Kate nodded. "At home and some, he's keeping here for me until I become domesticated," she replied adding emphasis to the last word.

"Domesticated."

She laughed. "Mm. In my father's terms that is defined as, married-"

"Married?"

"Hitched then? Bought a property, or pregnant or however he views it."

"I'd say all of the above. As a father, I look forward to one day seeing Alexis as a woman, a mother," he replied which caused Kate to look at him with a smile.

"That's sweet," she commented.

"Are you nervous about him meeting me?" Rick asked for the umpthteenth time.

"Why would I be? I think we're serious, Castle," she gave him a mischievous look.

"Oh, so we've moved into that camp, have we?"

"Maybe. We've been exclusive for a while and we've fessed up to your family, so we had better let mine in on it."

"Your Dad." He replied.

"And Sofia." She said.

"Your cousin."

"Mm. She's like a sister, you know."

"Mm…" He let her go so they could continue to the house, "Do you knock or walk in?"

"I have to knock, Rick, the door will be locked."

"Fair call. I don't have a Dad to do this with."

"Mm, I know."

"I hope he likes me."

"You really are nervous."

"Might pooh my pants nervous."

Kate laughed, "Seriously?"

"Never been so scared of meeting a girlfriend's father before."

They came to a stop in front of the red front door. Kate looked at Rick's eyes, then the door bell and pointed to it when he didn't get the hint.

"Oh." He squeaked then pressed the bell button. Chimes sounded from the hall way. Rick fidgeted, Kate watched on.

"Why you so worried? It's just my dad."

"Because his approval of me is important. You are important to me. This is a big event. And you have a gun."

They heard footsteps on hardwood floors. Kate went to say something to console Rick but the door opened and there stood her Dad in a knitted sweater and a smile.

"Daddy." She greeted, let go of Rick's sweaty hand, wiped it on her jeans and stepped into her father's opened arms, wondering why the hell Rick was so nervous about meeting her Dad.

"It's a Daddy night." Jim chuckled, "C'mere, Katie."

She momentarily regretted dropping her hold, slightly fearful Rick would turn and run for the hills. He had chattered the entire drive, obviously nervous. She stepped back, turned to Rick and said, "Dad, this is Rick Castle and Rick, I my father, Jim Beckett."

She leaned back a little so the men could shake hands. Rick was the sort of guy who liked a good hand shake, and often rattled on about what he considered was the correct grip, or the length of time of a good shake. He showed displeasure towards Donald Trump's style of hand shake because he tended to drag the opposing person into his personal space and pump the hand like he was pumping water from a well. She had seen him cackling at the TV about hand shakes. Personally, Kate hadn't given them much thought before she met Castle but nowadays she found herself assessing and analyzing. They sometimes played about with them.

"Very nice to meet you." Jim greeted, giving Rick a nice steady hand shake. That was her Dad, always polite, the lawyer she was accustomed to. Rick leaned in with his generous smile and she swore his hand was still sweaty.

"Same. Thank you for having me."

"Katie has told me a lot about working with you." Her Dad said, and instantly Kate shot him a look of objection he chose to ignore. It was the same look her mother would have used so she knew her father understood the message.

Rick looked at Kate, then returned is gaze to her father and replied, "Oh yeah? She tells everyone she despises my presence."

"That's what she says."

"Dad."

Jim reached to his daughter's shoulder, ignoring her subtle threat, "Come on, get inside, its cold out here."

Kate blindly found Rick's hand to ensure he followed her inside the house. Yes, his hand was a little sweaty but he seemed over the worst of it now. He was behaving like a nervous teenager, but then a teenager didn't have the pressure of being perhaps her future husband and father of her children, Jim's grand kids, as Rick was possibly feeling right now. Okay they hadn't discussed that sort of thing and it wasn't on her agenda right now but she was in that age range nowadays. Her father dropped the hint here and there that he would like her to have kids before she was too old, and he had chosen to share that with her in recent times, actually since she had told him she was dating seriously. The last time she had spoken with her Aunt Therese, she had also raised the subject that it was time for her and her cousin Sofia to start settling down. It seemed everyone wanted her to settle down.

Not yet.

Poor Rick.

On that thought, she clutched his hand fearful he might try to run for the hill. She led him into the living area of the quaint town house, a mental picture of Rick running away. She snickered.

"What?" He asked giving her hand a squeeze.

Kate paused, bit her lip holding back a smile, then whispered, "Don't succumb to the pressure, okay? My family want to marry me off."

His eyes widened and he shot a glance at the older man who was ahead of them and out of hearing range, he hoped. Kate tried not to laugh and that's when his expression changed.

"Oh, you're trying to wind me up."

She laughed, "Okay. Yes."

"Hilarious, Kate." He said, took a hold of her hips and directed her gently in the direction of her father, whom they followed to the kitchen where he had a spread of appetizers on the counter.

"I've been busy tidying up the garden in the backyard. I want to have a place to sit outdoors." Her father said.

"So, it's coming along?" Kate asked taking a seat at one of the bar stools. Rick sat with her on the next stool.

"It is. I have a landscaper coming out tomorrow to quote me on having pavers or something laid. Most of the gardening is done. Your uncle was here today giving a hand. In fact-" Jim paused, glanced at Kate with an expression she understood then looked to Rick who he then addressed, "Because I was telling him you were bringing over a friend tonight.

"You didn't tell him who?"

"No. But we got discussing you girls. You and your cousin Sofia."

"Yes." She glanced at Rick, "He's heading somewhere with this Rick."

"Yes, do continue, Jim."

Jim put a hand to his chin in thought, "Well yes, we talked about what your dowry would be worth. What you and Sofia's dowries would be worth."

"Dad." Kate warned, aware he was teasing Rick with his dry sense of humor.

Beside her, Rick fidgeted, cleared his throat and leaned into the group as he said, "Well Sir, I hope this dowry is significant. Your daughter has high expectations. She can be quite difficult to get along with at times and she is accustomed to a certain standard of living." He sat up, glanced with no shame at Kate.

She was quite surprised by his quick response. "What is this, the year eighteen hundred?" She asked of them. The men laughed. "I'm not a possession." She added.

"Arrhh but you are. You are my daughter, my family and Rick's girlfriend. And don't worry, either of you. Your secret is safe with me. It goes no further than me until you say otherwise. Welcome to our little family Rick." Jim smiled.

"Thanks Jim."

"Oh, and I agree, Katie can be exactly as you described."

"Dad!"

"Just jerking your chain, Honey." He smiled at his daughter.

"Even I knew he was stirring you, Kate." Rick said, placing his palm to her lower back.

"Did Kate tell you my late wife used to read your novels?"

"She did. Thank you." Rick took the initiative and offered drinks. They were all on water. He was driving and Jim didn't drink.

"Kate, I've started dating again. I met a woman at a work function."

"Really?" Kate smiled, keen to hear the news. "Tell me more."

"Her name is Emily, she is a legal executive who works for a colleague. About my age." He paused. "She's not been married, no kids. She has two dogs and a cat. I'm a little fond of her."

"I'm pleased for you, Dad. Maybe one night in a while, we could meet up for dinner."

"Great idea."

"Castle likes to dine."

"Yes, I do. Just a little hard to take your daughter out on dates when we are living the secret life of Beckett and Castle."

With a chuckle, Kate replied, "Hey maybe you would write a story about that."  
Rick laughed, "Yeah, I could post it on my Fanfiction page."

"You write fanfiction?" She asked in surprise.

Rick cleared his throat, then said, "We should get a dog, Kate. We could share custody."

"We're always gone. At work. That's changing the subject writer boy."

"You two focus on each other for a bit longer, and you stick to novels, Rick." Jim said half heartedly, then playfully pointed at Kate as he added, "though it is time for you to start …. Your mother had you by now."

"I need longer." Kate quickly replied, her tone implying to her father to stop.

"I have a daughter, teenage daughter, Jim, that I have sole custody of. I'm happy to wait." He said rescuing Kate who was blushing. Parents always had a way of embarrassing their kids. He did it to Alexis almost every other day, and his mother did it to him, almost every day. Was part of life.

"A daughter? How old is your daughter?"

"Almost sixteen and going on thirty. She's an old soul."

Kate laughed, "Yeah it's hard to believe this man has a daughter like Alexis, Dad. She's smart, sensible, focused."

"Hey, I can be all those," Rick replied and sat back on the stool beside Kate.

In the car on their way back to the city, Rick turned down the radio. He ran his hand down Kate's thigh. He had quickly relaxed in the presence of her father who wasn't as scary as he'd anticipated. In fact, the older man was quite mild mannered. Where Kate got the boldness from was a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it had been conditioned in her when she became a cop. Often when she was out of work and in her home, she tended to let her guard down in his present. She became more timid and was far more feminine.

"I think your Dad liked me."

Kate sleepily looked from the windscreen to Rick who was designated driver.

"He did." She reassured forcing herself to restrain a smile of amusement. About a half dozen times Rick had said that since he got in the Ferrari. She reached out and turned the radio back up.

"Kate?"

"Mm?" She turned the radio back down.

"You call him Daddy?"

"Mm. Why?"

"So un-Beckett like of you."

"I call you Ricky," she purred back putting sexual emphasis on his name.

"Yeah. When you want me, or something."

She laughed. "I call him Daddy when I want something, to tease him and he'd probably say when I need his parental support."

"Which wouldn't be often." Rick commented.

"Depends. After my mother died he wasn't in a place to support me. Extended family did. But he's my go to person when I have to talk to someone nowadays." Kate peered down at her hands, trying to block out memories of the months after her mother had died. The emotional numbness, the inability to move on, trying to stop her father from drowning himself in alcohol, only to find she was drinking it as well. It had been such a dark period. Losing someone close had left a gaping hole in her life, even to this day.

"You okay?" Rick asked and gave her thigh a stroke.

"Mmm. Just thinking." She looked over at him, feeling her chest flutter just on the tones in his voice. He really cared for her, "Do you think we jumped in too fast?" She asked.

"You and I? In to what we have?"

"Mm. I mean we were on a date, and then exclusive the next day."

Rick impulsively grinned, "Best date eva. Tops my list."

It caused Kate to smile. "It was a good date."

"We're not kids Kate. We've experienced enough with life to know we have something pretty special. What I feel for you is a first for me."

"Mmm. Same," she agreed. "Terrifies me at times."

"Terrifies you?" Again, he put his hand to her thigh.

"That I can feel so much for another person."

"Oh, it really is late for you, huh. Long weekend. Great day with your new boyfriend. I'm really breaking those walls down." He teased.

Kate stared at him, the street lights passing over his face as he drove the car back to his home. Being at her Dad's for the evening with Rick, had brought with it another form of absence of her mother, who would have loved Rick without a doubt. Jim had shared that over the dinner table. Her absence had weighed heavily, and Kate understood it was because Rick meant so much to her. Approval from her father had been far more important than Kate had anticipated. Rick was all cool about it now, but Kate felt emotionally spent. One day, in the not too distant future, she imagined taking their kids to see their grandfather, and they would never get to experience her mother's maternal love.

"Where you gone, Honey?" Rick asked squeezing her thigh.

"Huh?" She put her hand over his large hand. "Oh, nowhere."

"You wandered off somewhere."

"Circa two thousand seventeen." She shyly replied then giggled.

"Oh. Fuck. That's like ages away Kate. Don't scare yourself to death. Stay around two thousand nine for a bit. Get used to that." He replied. "A lot could happen in our story between now and seventeen." He said and took his hand away to find the remote for the garage entry to his loft.

"You're right. I will focus on tonight. Now." She fell silent, thinking about their evening, their weekend and she looked down at the items her father had given her when they had been relaxing in the living room. One was a novel her mother had owned, one of Rick's earliest books. Kate had her own copy at home. Like her mother, she had written in the margins. Differing comments, that Rick had sat on the sofa and scanned the notes. He had also given her an old photo album.

"I missed my mother tonight." She found herself saying without a damn filter. It was usually a thought that would remain within but she had unconditionally shared it with Rick.

"I know. You look so much like she did."

"Yeah, about that, I'm so sorry my Dad got the photo albums out."

"Don't be sorry about that. You were a gorgeous baby."

Kate smirked, "My Mom would bring out the albums on my birthday after we had dinner and she would share with me details about the day I was born. We shared a glass of her favorite wine and she would reminisce about my birth with my Dad listening in. I think he recorded it a couple of times."

"That is cute. Looking through those photos gave me …"

"Please don't make me a back story for Nikki Heat…"

"No. C'mon Kate, this is you, your life, like this is our life, our secret."

"Sorry. You were saying they gave you?"

"A perspective on the dynamics of your family, an understanding of how your mother's death impacted your family and your life. It was cruel to terminate your mother like snuffing out a cigarette butt. Your mother didn't get justice, didn't get the investigation she deserved."

"It was incompetence, and someone stopped the investigation to protect those responsible." Kate summed up. "I have to live with that."

"And the fact the person you see in the mirror is a constant reminder of your Mom. You are the spitting image of her."

Kate nodded her agreement. "I've turned them into fond memories. My cheekbones. I get them from my grandmother. The same eyes."

Rick thought about her father momentarily wondering whether her appearance was bothersome to her father. Jim's daughter was always the image of her mother, just like Alexis often reminded him of Meredith - the good and the bad. Having looked through a few albums it was easy to see Kate was a reproduction of her mother, "Those cheekbones you have, agents hunt for in models. Don't get how you weren't discovered. You're tall, have long legs, all they want in super models."

Kate laughed, "You wish." She thought about the box in her home full of clippings of her younger days as a model. Modelling had paid her way through college with the help of her father. She would keep that one to herself.

Rick pulled into his designated car space and killed the engine. "Let's get inside and go to bed. I'm beat."

"Me too."


	40. Chapter 40

_This chapter is short, but a bit of a filler for those who know the novels as well …. Enjoy…_

 **Chapter 40**

It was shortly after breakfast dishes were cleaned up, they were sitting on second coffees and there was still awhile before they were to leave the loft to get some fresh air. It was a going to be a cracker of a day weather wise, perfect for what they had planned to do. Rick was in his office doing a few things, said he needed to keep on top of his paperwork. Something about paying Alexis' school fees, the electricity and he mumbled he wanted to check on his shares.

Alone in the living room of the loft for the first time, and relaxed, Kate aimlessly wandered about, taking in the writer's home. The old typewriters perfectly positioned on the book shelves were intriguing and in mint condition. One of them had been used quite a bit in its day, its keys well worn by fingers of long ago. There were trinkets from other countries, little trophies or plaques awarded for his writing. Not much dust about but he did have a house keeper come in a few days a week.

Kate found herself in front of the piano, her finger tips softly touched the shiny black surface of the baby grand. She bit her lip, fighting a memory she preferred to keep suppressed. She glanced up and looked through the bookshelves to where Rick was busy shuffling pieces of paper and tapping into his laptop.

She sat on the piano chair then carefully lifted the lid to expose the keys. It had been a long time she hadn't sat in front of a piano and enjoyed playing it. Her fingers hovered over there home base as she contemplated whether she would have a tingle of it. Would she remember. She dropped her hands, doubtful she could play and she didn't want to sound bad in front of Rick. Alexis probably played piano like a concert pianist.

"Damn it." She whispered. "He won't care." Her hands returned to their position and she gently touched a C key. The piano released its sound in the large open living area. She paused to listen and to enjoy its resonance in the loft. More confident, she touched the key harder, then listened. She played the C major scale. The piano was in tune.

In the office, Rick concentrated on completing the review of a chapter he needed to get done to firstly keep his agent off him, and secondly so he and Kate could leave the house. With the weather expected to nice and sunny, he had decided it was a good day to take his girlfriend for a drive in the Ferrari and out of the city.

He heard the piano, and figured Kate was having a play on it.

At first, she was raw. She experimented with the keys but he could also hear she had been taught to play. A little bit of tune came from the piano, a few notes he didn't recognise. She stopped and repeated the notes, better and clearer. He smiled to himself please the ornament was getting used. Apart from his mother, the piano was rarely used by anyone. He continued to sort out the last few paragraphs of the chapter, email it to his agent, then turned to his finances. He transferred money to his investment account and sent an email to his accountant in response to a query.

For a while Kate bashed out various scales using the full range of keys, and it sounded as though she was reminding herself of how to play piano, particularly when her fingers stumbled over the keys and she cursed.

He was surprised when Kate released what sounded like singing. It did make him stop. She was immediately in tune but shy, probably conscious he was present. She commenced to warm up her voice along with her fingers. Gradually her voice became stronger, the fingers hit the keys more confidently and it became quite apparent she'd had singing and piano lessons in her younger years. She quietened her voice for a while and only fiddled with the piano.

Once he wrapped up what he was doing he quietly took himself to the doorway to watch his girlfriend. She was in her own world, playing bits and pieces of music and singing the words she remembered. She had a singing voice but because she didn't practice much, it was a little off the mark at times. He didn't care, because he was seeing a side of Kate no one else did. It was cute she was rediscovering something she once enjoyed.

She stopped playing and put her hands to her lap, staring in deep thought at the keys.

"You play piano." He softly said as he entered the living room.

Kate smiled, self-conscious and looked to him as he approached. "Yeah, but I'm out of practice, a lot."

"You've clearly had lessons," he pointed at the piano then his throat.

"Mmm. My mom taught me. She was very good on the piano. She enjoyed it more than I."

"She was a piano teacher?"

"Paid her way through law teaching piano and tutoring apparently. She couldn't sing."

"Piano teacher. What a great way to get into the lives of the rich and famous." He mumbled.

Kate's brown furrowed, "Strange way of looking at …" she stopped when Rick's eyes suddenly widened as though a thought had struck him. "What?" She was curious.

"Oh, my God. I just thought of something great for Nikki Heat." He turned around and in rush, headed back to the office shouting, "I gotta get this down, Honey."

"I need to read about this Nikki Heat." Kate called back, also wondering on earth what had just happened. It was moments later the thought struck her that she had just experienced her first occasion when an idea about a story struck Rick. She smiled in amusement stretching her body upward to see through the shelving. Castle was over the desk, scratching something down in the little note book he carried with him nearly all the time. It was written in daily but this time the excitement level had shot through the roof. Given a few seconds, he straightened up and gave several excited fist pumps.

When he returned to the living area, he was all smiles that caused her to smile.

"So, Castle, what did you think of?"

"Oh, I just figured out what Nikki Heat's mother did, how she became a spy," he replied. "C'mon, let's get out of here, take in some sun and fresh air. I'm so excited we can spend the day alone together."

"We have to be back for the night out tonight." She reminded him as she grabbed her bag and a denim jacket.

"Yes. Are we going there together?" He asked as he opened the front door.

"Yes. If anyone asks, I will say you picked me up." She passed him, "Everyone thinks you're trying to get in my pants so picking me up is something you would press upon me."

Rick laughed, pull the door closed, "If only they knew I've not only got in your pants on quite a few occasions, but I'm also buying you the damn panties. Beautiful ones, by the way."

A giggle escaped Kate, "Yes, they are, and I'm going to wear the dress tonight that you bought me in LA."

"I hope so. If we arrive together, it means we are going to our first social occasion with friends, as a couple, even if no one else knows." He hit the down button to the elevator.

Kate smiled. "That's true," she said, "Stop thinking about dragging me back to the bedroom."

"What?" He innocently asked then smiled devilishly. "But if you keep using that tone…"

She pressed her lips together, took his hand and pulled him into the elevator. "Later." She touched the ground floor button then continued to the back of the box. He followed, connected by their hands and stopped when he was close to her.

"Where do you want to go today?"

"How about we have lunch in a park or at the beach." She drew closer, seductively stared into his eyes, "We could find a place, a quiet place…"

He laughed, "You want to make love in public."

"Maybe."

"You're blushing, Kate. You thoroughly got off on it, the day we did it outside."

She giggled, "Maybe."

The doors opened to the elevator, and with her hand in his, they walked from the box into the parking garage. "You did." He stated,

"How about you tell me more about this Nikki Heat?"

"Sure, but not today."

"Please?"

"When I'm ready I will. She's still forming, Kate." He released her hand, so they could go to their respective sides of the sports car, "I promise you, she won't let you down."

"Alright." She sat inside the car, dropped her bag into the back.

Before Rick started the engine, he paused to look over his girlfriend. "She will be a combination of us. Trust me on this."

Kate reached out to his face, to give his face a caress and she nodded, "I trust you. She will be great."

A rich laugh escaped the writer, "With you as my muse she will be magnificent." He started the car.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41 - Season 1 Ep 9**

Beckett stepped out of her car closed the door and look about to find Castle waiting in the middle of the car parking lot, with two cups of coffee. He was oddly staring at the clouds overhead his eyes squinting because of the morning glare.

"Think its gonna rain again, Castle?" She asked as she approached.

Castle's gaze went to Kate, a smile spreading over his face, "Morning again. Yes, I do. Rained last night."

"It was cold."

"Yes, you claimed my jacket," he said and held out the large coffee cup and brown paper bag, She gave him a grateful smile. "Grand skim latte, two pumps sugar-free vanilla, and a bear claw."

"Thank you, Castle. How do you know when I've only said it the once?" She used a tone that implied she was toying with him.

He smirked, "I'm a novelist. It's my job to notice things." He then quietly said, "I also know how hung over you are, so I asked for a stronger dose of caffeine for you. Bottoms up."

"Oh yeah, badly hung over," she agreed as they began to walk towards the building of the crime scene. "I bet you are too."

"Three coffees down, Honey. Cheers," he declared and they tapped their cups together, "To decent hangovers, once in a while."

Kate released a laugh. "For sure."

Once they were within hearing distance of the uniformed police standing about in wait on the side walk, she said loud and clear, "It's Sunday morning, Castle. Shouldn't you be slinking home from a scandalous liaison?"

Rick laughed joyously at her staged conversation, keen to carry on with it, "Would you be jealous if I were?"

"In your dreams." She took a large bite of the bear claw.

"Actually," he paused from walking and turned to Kate, "In my dreams you're never jealous. In my dreams, you just join..."

Beckett shoved her bear claw into his mouth. Rick had a bite, then pushed it from his mouth back at Beckett, who had a further mouthful.

"Hey, these are really nice," he commented, "I can see why you have a fetish for them." He continued to walk, staying at her side. "So, shortly after I left this morning, Montgomery called and said, come down right away. So, it must be gruesome. Why didn't you call?"

"I went to Pilates," she said. "Try not to get so giddy every time we go to a crime scene, okay?'

"Just because somebody's dead, doesn't mean you have to be grumpy, Beckett."

"Oh, do you want to see grumpy? How about the cover art for your new novel? I happened upon it this morning."

"Nikki Heat cover art? That's only available to-" He stopped as he realized something. "Oh my God! You subscribe to my website?"

"What? No." Beckett was horrified, so much so she turned and rushed off toward the crime scene.

"Wait a minute, are you CastleFreak1212? CastleLover45?"

"You do realize that most people would be creeped out by crazy anonymous fans?" Beckett suggested.

"Like you?" He swiftly flew back at her.

"It was strictly professional curiosity," she said.

"Yeah sure. So, what did you think of your alter ego, Nikki? Pretty sweet, right?"

"Sweet? She's naked, Castle!"

"She's not naked. She's holding a gun... strategically," he said giving a wave to a couple of the local uniforms they passed on the sidewalk.

"You know... I take comfort in the fact that, if they're already publishing the cover art, then your book - and our little partnership - is almost done," she smugly said and passed him the final bite of the claw that he swallowed down like a hungry dog. "You eat well after a night of heavy drinking, Rick."

"Good observation, Kate. I don't believe you went to Pilates this morning by the way,"

"Why?

"Because when I left your apartment, you were barely capable of dressing yourself." He said coming to a halt on the side walk before they got within hearing distance of the police outside the entrance.

She too stopped and had a sip of her coffee trying her upmost not to break into a grin. No matter how much she tried she couldn't succeed in making him believe her when she fibbed. She had to finish it before they entered the murder scene. "I'm okay," she said. "Perhaps a little hung over."

"Really? A little? In fact, I remember you mumbling something about wishing you could die because the thumping head ache you were suffering was quote," he managed to wave fingers of each hand in the air signalling quote signs, "Agonising. What happened? There's no way you did Pilates."

She smiled coyly, stepped in close, put a hand to the collar of his jacket, and brushed away a dark hair that she figured was hers. "My hair," she muttered, then said, "I fell asleep on the floor of the shower after you left. The water was so hot and comfy and, I woke up when the water had gone cold."

Rick smirked, enjoying every moment of watching her confession of being under the weather that morning. "Atta girl." After her mouthing off she could hold her liquor, he had put her to the test, "How long's it been since you had a night like that out on the town? Cut yourself loose?"

"A while."

"Being?"

She looked down then back up. He always thought she looked awfully cute when she did that. Caused his heart to flutter. "Minimum of two years."

"Lanie said at least five," he retaliated maintaining a serious expression in order to drag out her pain. "She said last night she hadn't seen you have so much fun."

Kate stopped smiling. "Yeah? I went out before I met you."

"Mm," he agreed and saw her smile.

She murmured, "I had a ball last night, Rick. You kept me safe and let me have fun."

"Let you go wild, lift your shirt up, dance on the table and make out with me in public. That part was the most fun."

Then she grinned, "Did they see us?"

"If you mean Espo, Lanie, Ryan and his girlfriend, the Captain. Yeah. They cheered. You bowed proudly"

She blushed. "Ok. I can deal with that later."

"It's done. I told them you get fresh with me whenever you have a few. You know, get all fangirl and that. Joked it off."

"Oh yeah, I recall you saying that in the cab."

"Ok, we'll discuss last night later today. Well I'm gonna get giddy over this murder scene we're about to step into, so remember to be Detective Beckett again."

"Oh, I will, Castle." Beckett placed the empty coffee cup in the holder that Castle carried. They continued along the pavement until reach an apartment foyer. Beckett nodded to a Uniform and entered, going in the direction the height of activity was. She walked inside a ground floor apartment. A uniform guarding the doorway, stopped Castle for a moment.

"No coffee in here, sir," the uniform said, so Castle passed him the tray then followed Kate inside the home. The apartment was bustling with Uniforms and Techs taking crime scene photos. There was a sense of urgency in the air which was unusual for a murder scene. The Detective and writer barely found their orientation in the home when Captain Montgomery approached them.

"How's the head of yours, Beckett? Are you right to work?"

"Yes, Sir. The head is fine." She glanced between the men who shared a smirk.

Rick said so only the Captain would hear, "She's full of caffeine. She'll be good for a while."

"Amazing what happens with a few drinks." Montgomery remarked glancing from Castle to Beckett. "About time too."

Kate tried not to sound flustered by her Captain's teasing remark clearly about her kissing Rick last night, "Sir? What's going on?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Detective," Montgomery waved his hand between Beckett and Castle, "What was going on with you two last night?"

Kate stood still hoping this agonising moment would pass quickly, "Sir, I have no idea what you're…"

The Captain hissed, "C'mon Beckett. You were virtually having…"

Rick cleared his throat, "Arr. Captain, she doesn't remember much about last night." He gave a sign she was totally written off. "I tucked her into her apartment-"

"Rick." Beckett intercepted.

"I've lost a lot money on you two."

Beckett closed in the space on the two men and looked her Captain in the eyes. She whispered, so no one in the room would hear their conversation, "With all due respect Sir," she momentarily gritted her teeth, "Why is everyone betting on whether Castle and I are fucking?"

"Because we as humans feed of that sort of stuff." Castle replied on behalf of the Captain, aware Kate was sensitive about this betting thing they all had going. Rick was having fun with it, but a few times now Kate had had little outbursts about it. He touched her arm, "It's okay. We know what's going on or should I say not going on, between us."

"What is going on here." Kate asked, making the decision to move on. She wanted to go back to bed.

"Two year-old girl, Angela Candela, reported missing by her parents about eight o'clock this morning."

She searched the room, "Where'd they find the body?"

"They haven't found her," the Captain replied, "She was abducted. Father was in the other room, painting."

"Kidnapped from her home?" Castle's appeared a little astounded that a child would be snatched from their home.

"I don't understand, sir. If this isn't a murder, why am I here?" She wanted to add, with a hangover and Castle, but she kept that to herself.

The Captain nodded over his shoulder, "The Feds requested you to be on the task force."

Castle got interested, "Feds?"

Kate answered, "FBI has jurisdiction over child abduction cases."

Confused, Castle asked, "Then why call me?"

"Because I like pissing off the FBI. And because you think outside the box. That's something the FBs rarely do."

Kate was curious as to who had requested her, "Sir, who's the Special Agent in charge?"

Montgomery held up a hand warning his Detective, "Beckett, it doesn't matter who—"

She persisted, "Sir, who?"

He said with resignation, "Sorenson."

Rick asked, "Who's Sorenson?"

Beckett ignored Castle, "I thought that he was in—"

"In Boston? Not anymore. He's here."

Castle repeated, "Who's Sorenson?"

"This isn't gonna be a problem, is it, Detective? I mean, we're all professionals here, right?"

Rick said, "Actually, I'm not. Who's Sorenson?"

"No, sir. Not a problem." Beckett replied.

The Captain addressed Beckett, "For what it's worth, that missing little girl doesn't care about your history, nor do her terrified parents. They just want their baby back alive." His cell phone rang with an incoming call.

Beckett ignored Castle's impatience and the ringing phone, "Where is he, sir?

"He's over there, talking to the parents." He accepted the call, "Montgomery."

Beckett turned to see a small circle of adults talking, whom she guessed were the parents, Alfred and Theresa Candela. Then she laid her sight on the tall, attractive, charismatic FBI Agent Will Sorenson who was looking very fit and well. He happened to look up and saw Beckett. They locked eyes.

Castle saw it and immediately knew there was a history between the Fed and Kate. He felt a pang of jealous somewhere deep inside. The guy was handsome, exactly the type of man he'd imagine Kate would like. Oddly, not much different to himself.

The FBI agent glanced between Alfred and the detective. He then crossed the living room stepping around a few people to get to Castle and Beckett. "Hello, Kate."

Kate smiled, a little reserved, "Hello, Will. How long you been back?"

"A couple of months," he said.

Beckett nodded and repeated with a semi tight jaw. "Couple months." The guy could have called, but then again, they did break up and she had been dating Rick for more than a few months, "Something wrong with Boston?"

"Fresh lobster gets old fast." He smiled as he looked her right over, "You look good."

"Thanks. I feel good. Agent Sorenson, this is Richard Castle" She spoke as neutrally as she could possibly be when she considered she was standing side by side to old boyfriend and new boyfriend. Old boyfriend knew a lot about her personal life and new boyfriend's instincts were working quite well with the look he just three at her.

"The famous novelist." Sorenson commented with a coy tone in his voice that Beckett comprehended. Her cheeks caught fire. Castle seemed to Sorenson as being a bit smug but Kate realised he also saw the blush in her cheeks. Uncontrollably, she bit her bottom lip. He damn well saw that too.

"Writer of wrongs." The writer said.

Sorenson turned back to Beckett, "So, Captain Montgomery filled me in on your little arrangement. And I have no problem with it, as long as it doesn't interfere with the investigation."

"Oh, don't worry about me. Quiet as a mouse." Rick commented, starting to mentally connect the dots. Kate had slept with this guy. More than that. They'd been an item. She was fidgeting.

Sorenson showed Beckett a photo of an adorable 2-year-old girl clutching a stuffed bunny. He said "Angela Candela. Two years old. Abducted this morning between 7:30 and 8 am. Parents were home at the time."

"How do you get abducted when your parents are home?" Castle asked looking about them then back to his group, catching the look from the agent, "Yeah."

Sorenson continued, "Dad got up with the kid about seven, let the Mom sleep in. He planted Angela in front of the tube with a juice box and some cereal, then headed into his art studio." They walked into the art studio. "Obviously, he's a painter."

"He just left his kid?" Rick asked in surprise.

Beckett continued, "Did he hear anything at least?"

"He was listening to his iPod," Sorenson replied.

"Nothing like a little quality time with Daddy," Rick muttered.

"Okay. Well I need to have a chat with the parents," Kate said mainly to Sorenson. He led Castle and Beckett to Theresa and Alfred Candela who were in the kitchen and commenced with formal introductions. They all remained by an open window in the kitchen with.

Alfred said, "When I couldn't find her, I looked everywhere for her, and then I saw the window."

Sorenson said to Beckett, "The lock was jimmied from the outside.

Alfred said, "I…. I ran outside. I looked for her."

Beckett said, "Mr Candela, you live on a ground-floor apartment with windows facing the alleyway. Most people have bars."

Theresa said, "We were going to. We just..."

"… I never got around to it," Alfred finished avoiding looking at his wife.

Beckett stepped to the window and peered out to the ground outside then inspected the dirt on the floorboards below the window.

Sorenson who had been watching Beckett, said, "We think the dirt's from outside."

Alfred asked to anyone, "How could this happen in our own home?"

Beckett ignored the father, focussed on what she was seeing as the parents were too in shock to be of much value, "So, our suspect climbed in through the window, grabbed Angela and probably walked out the back door." Beckett summed up as the three of them moved out of hearing range of the parents, The stood close enough to hear each other and be discreet.

"Just like that?" Castle asked in surprise.

Sorenson said, "We have her photo on the wires and are issuing an AMBER Alert to Port Authority and the Tri-State Area."

Beckett said, "I'll have my guys run down any registered sex offenders and residential burglaries. What about the parents? Anyone they can think of?"

Sorenson said, "No, not that either of them can think straight right now."

Castle said, "This thing goes south, they'll never think straight again."

Sorenson saw the expression on Beckett's face and stepped closer, a little too close to be professional. She looked at his eyes as he reassured, "This one'll end better. I promise."

The conversation during the drive to the Precinct centred around the subject of their new case, being the kidnapping. It was also a quick 101 lesson for Castle while Kate explained the procedures and policies the NYPD had to adhere to when situations came up like this kidnapping. The thing was, Kate wasn't a seasoned abduction cop. Even at the Police Academy, Kate had intended to become a detective in homicide and once she achieved her goal, had never even thought of transferring out of the department. Why would she with a Captain Montgomery leading the squad at the 12th. Castle asked questions a few of which she responded vaguely, telling him she was unsure of the details. The car was parked in the basement garage and they caught the elevator to the bull pen falling silent during that short ride.

Castle was aware Beckett avoided mentioning Sorenson and assumed they had history but he let it go. The silence in the elevator was deafening. Beckett stewed on Rick's query. Rick stewed on her reluctance to share her history, her life before he came along. They were entering new waters in their relationship.

"Six months." Beckett said.

"Six months, what?" Rick asked, pretending he had forgotten it.

"We dated for six months," she confirmed.

"I didn't ask."

"Yeah, I know. You were not asking very loudly." She replied looking at him looking at her.

"I know," He smiled, brightened up and said excitedly, "I'm like a Jedi like that."

Kate rolled her eyes.

The elevator doors opened. Beckett and Castle exited the elevator and walked to the bullpen. On their way, Rick asked casually, trying not to sound jealous or possessive.

"So, how'd you meet?"

"Kidnapping. A 6-year-old boy."

"How'd it end?"

"We got the guy," she answered, but the way she said it, Castle knew there was way more to the story than what she was willing to share presently. He dropped it for now because Esposito and Ryan were at their desks ready to report to Beckett. Prying wasn't something he wanted them to hear.

As the team leader, she immediately scanned the clean board and asked as she put down her stuff on her desk, "What we got on the parents?" She looked at the single photo of Angela holding a soft toy giving a silent pray that the board wouldn't become a murder board.

Ryan turned to face Beckett as he replied, "Theresa and Alfred Candela. Married ten years. One child: Angela Candela." Ryan wore a particularly loud tie that caused Castle and Beckett to do a double take. They shot a look at each other, then Rick typically reacted.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed with a start, "Sorry. Sorry about that. That tie took me a little by surprise.

In the background, Esposito snickered.

Ryan dropped his notebook to his lap, "Okay. Get it all out. This is a gift from my girlfriend." Ryan said gazing fondly down upon his new bright pink tie.

Surprised, and now interested, Esposito said, "Girlfriend?"

Beckett who found herself more inquisitive than usual, managed to keep it casual but had to ask, "Already giving gifts, huh?" She glanced to Castle who caught her eye and her expression.

"Today's our two-week anniversary," Ryan informed them.

All of them respond with a collective, "Oooh."

"Two weeks! Is that paper or silk?" Esposito inquired.

"I believe it's whipped," Castle commented.

"Good one," pointed out Espo with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Ryan muttered, then focussed on his job. He read from his notes again, "One child, Angela Candela. Age two. She's adopted."

"Adopted?" Beckett echoed.

"Yeah, two years ago. Mom, Theresa, she's a fund manager at Keller Stanton. Dad's a small-time artist. Shows at the Grayson Gallery in Chelsea once in a while. Neighbour says he stays home with the kid."

Beckett pulled out a piece of paper and held it up, "Alright, here's a list of all the people who had access to the apartment: babysitters, cleaning lady, super. Let's cross-reference that with any registered sex offenders in the area, see if anyone had a thing for little girls."

"'You thinking there's some creepy-crawly probably scouted from the inside?" Esposito asked.

Beckett's desk phone began to ring. She said, "Well, the father said what he did this morning was part of a routine. So, either somebody got lucky, or they already knew it." She reached over her desk to pick up the phone. "Beckett. Yeah, we'll be right there." She hung up with a heavy drop in its cradle, "Looks like it wasn't a creepy crawler after all. Candelas just got a ransom call," she announced.


	42. Chapter 42

_Okies, this is the wind up to the part we all know about and is pretty much canon with a few added bits and pieces. Its not long but if I join it to the next piece, its double the size and I'm not quite finished with the next part. Busy with work so trying to keep the chapter coming …. Enjoy and thanks for the reviews. More would be encouraging._

 **Chapter 42**

Castle and Beckett returned to the residence of the Candela family once the FBI confirmed via text message to Beckett that a phone tap was set up on the house phone. Inside the apartment, they waited for the kidnapper's ransom call to come in.

While the FBI agents tried to act busy and interested, Castle mostly remained in the background, hovering by walls out of sight, out of mind. Beckett discreetly monitored the behaviour of the parents and family members also not interfering too much with the FBI work. He was content to watch the police work, hoping he would take something from the experience so one day he might write about a similar situation. He also observed the people around them, especially Agent Sorenson who, without a doubt, wanted a fresh taste of his ex-girlfriend. Overall, the FBI did a lot of sitting around but when the phone rang, everyone jumped into action.

The call was swift and short. Rick's heart rate increased with his excitement but he maintained a cool exterior aware. The kidnappers claimed wanted $750,000 in exchange for the little girl's return within 24 hours.

Post the phone call everyone was busy. The family worked to gather up the money, the FBI scrubbed the recording to see if they could hear anything to find its originating place or any information of value. It was evident the phone call had been redirected through IP addresses.

As things quietened, Castle leaned against the doorframe between the kitchen and living area to continue to observe the goings on. When Sorenson passed by to enter the kitchen, he uneasily acknowledged Castle's presence. A quick decision had Castle follow the FBI agent into the room aware they had a couple of minutes of privacy.

"You do this a lot? Kidnappings?" Rick asked naturally interested in retrieving a bit of a back story on this handsome agent. He hadn't missed that a few of the women on duty had checked out Sorenson. Even Beckett did. It was easy to see why women would be attracted to him. "You seem to know what to say," he further commented.

Sorenson paused from making a drink in thought. He replied, "It's not about what you say. It's about controlling the situation. Controlling the emotions."

Castle considered his reply then commented aware he was about to be skating on thin ice, "You requested your ex-girlfriend for the task force. That doesn't indicate, to me, a control over your emotions."

"I requested Beckett because she's the best in the city," Sorenson smoothly answered.

"Not because you wanted to see her again?"

Sorenson stepped closer, his jaw square and tight, "How about you, Castle? You've written, what, twenty best-sellers?"

"Well, twenty six, but who's counting?"

"So, why the sudden need to shadow a real detective?" Sorenson challenged looking directly back at Castle.

"Well, the ones on TV seem oddly fixated on their sunglasses." He answered with a smart ass tone.

"So, with all the fat, balding detectives in the NYPD, you just happened to end up shadowing her."

"Must be fate," Castle replied aware the conversation had rapidly declined into a pissing competition.

"Must be," Sorenson agreed, and stared him down. Rick noted he had blue eyes but they were a different shade to his, less brighter or something.

Rick saw Beckett enter the kitchen obviously suspicious what the boys were up to.

They dropped their conversation and Sorenson backed away, their attention on the woman who now seemed fully aware the boys had been up to something unfavourable but she chose to ignore it.

She said to no one in particular, "Candelas have pulled their financials. Her sister is on the way." She gazed at Rick momentarily like a suspicious mother, then diverted her attention to Sorenson as she asked, "Anything on the transcripts?"

"It's clear the ransom demand has significance. Kidnappers made an issue about knowing what the Candelas have."

Castle commented, "They said it's everything they have."

"Whoever made the demand knows them well enough to know exactly what they're worth." Sorenson confirmed.

"Doug Ellers has been picked up by the boys and he's waiting for us back at the Precinct."

"Alright. We'll head back there. See what he has to say." Sorenson replied.

Kate gave a nod, then looked at Castle, "Coming?"

"Yeah." Rick glanced at Sorenson then followed Kate from the kitchen.

Outside as they walked towards the car, Kate asked, "What is going on with you and Sorenson, Castle?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? That didn't seem like nothing to me, back there."

"Oh, we were discussing keeping emotional control of the situation."

Kate scoffed, "What, fodder for your books?"

"Yep, you could call it that, though not necessarily for my books." He replied and looked at her, holding an expression he hope she understood. His fodder was more about what was going on with Sorenson and Beckett.

As she started the car, Castle mentioned, "He still likes you, Kate.'

Immediately Kate looked at him and he watched her large hazel eyes scan his face, assess what he was saying. He could get lost in those eyes, caused him to instantly melt. She knew it. Knew already she had the upper hand with him and he allowed her to know. She was a person who needed another person to love her unconditionally. Her mind, body and soul had craved it and she devoured his affection. At the same time she was terrified to permit herself to drop her guard, to fully commit to a relationship. Its why she hadn't followed Sorenson. The bond hadn't been forged enough to make her want to leave her life.

She drew in a deeper breath. "He might still like me, but its over, Rick. I want to see how we go." She gave him that smile that caused him to crumble. Timid, not quite a full smile but her eyes shined just enough.

He smiled back, "He still wants in your pants."

"How do you know?"

"I'm a guy. You're gorgeous and he's been with you."

"Are you jealous?" She asked as she switched on the indicator and drove from the car park.

"Me?" He was a little taken aback. "Oh, no. He's completely different to me, too similar to you for you two to last."

"Are you saying you're the better choice?"

"For you, yes. Not saying he's a bad choice. I'm sure he'd make a great partner, but he's too much like you."

"Oh," she replied and she kind of glanced at him, acceptance of his statement, maybe. "He was a good boyfriend, but we both worked long hours so it was a slow development in our relationship. Then he left. Different to ours."

"Better different?"

"No. You're with me all the time. We catapulted ourselves into a serious relationship pretty much overnight, right?" She sounded a little hesitant, but he laughed.

"Oh yeah. I went out on date a single man and woke up the next morning the first thought being that I was in a committed relationship with the woman sleeping beside me."

"Didn't need to think about it?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Heart wants what the heart wants, Kate. It wants you."

She pinched her lip then smiled, glancing to him. "Trying to freak me out there, Castle."

"You know that already." He stroked the back of his fingers lightly down her cheek. "I adore having you in my life."

Doug Ellers. He happened to be a disgruntled co-worker of Mrs Candela. As part of their process the FBI and NYPD had to establish whether he was a person of interest, whether he was spiteful enough to have kidnapped the child name Angela Candela.

Having Ellers attend the Precinct to be questioned in relation to the kidnapping of Angela Candela had been a waste of time and man hours. But they knew that now.

During the interrogation, Rick had sensed that the man had been thrown to the wolves, was bait to distract the FBI agents for a little longer. There was something awfully fishy going on in his opinion that he chose to keep to himself for now. When one simply considered the way the child had been taken, it raised a flag. In addition, the ransom amount was the extent of the Candela's finances and the question needed to be asked, who outside the immediate family knew that.

Problem was, the FBI Agent and the NYPD Detective weren't figuring it out because they were too busy subconsciously resolving unfinished business from their ended relationship.

Apart from the ex-lovers having problems to resolve, Rick accepted to himself, only, that he was somewhat threatened by Sorenson. Kate still had emotions circling her system about the FBI agent. It worried Rick that she did but he thought she mainly harboured emotions about Sorenson leaving her. His return and his behaviour he wanted to pick up where they left off, had Kate revisiting those feelings. Rick just hoped it would bring her closure on an event that had once hurt her.

His pressure to keep her, and Sorenson's pressure to have another go with her caused Kate to break.

Kate's sudden decision to kick Rick out of the Precinct had severely pissed him off, but he didn't want her to know that. At the time he'd obeyed, his only sign of objection being his expression she'd seen and accepted. His level of insecurity spike, but he kept a lid on it. So, as she had requested, he stayed away. On his way home, he dropped by his agent's office to pick up a couple of documents she wanted him to sign and return. He had read and signed them at the office then had continued home.

When Castle walked through the front door he heard Martha, passionately confronting a client. He paused when he realized her voice was coming from his office. She was in his personal space, and he wasn't particularly comfortable with it.

He heard his mother's voice, "Todd, honey, I really, really need you to focus on calibrating your creative energy. What do I mean? I mean the source of your power. The source of your power, Todd, is you."

Castle entered his office to find Martha seated at his desk, her feet up like she owned the place. She faced one of her clients. A name plaque on the desk read Martha Rodgers, life coach. That amused Rick no end.

"Howdy, Mother."

Martha looked at her son like a bit deer in headlights, and Todd turned to Castle, slightly in awe of his presence.

"Hello. Well, you're here." She faked a chuckle. I'm just finishing up a session in my office."

"I'm so flattered you have my framed book covers in your office." He remarked, staring his mother down.

Martha flashed her son with a look then said, "Well, a coach can never be too proud."

Todd stood and grabbed his knapsack. Gets up the nerve. "Mr. Castle, I just want to thank you for being so honest about your struggle with persistent and chronic writer's block."

"Excuse me?" Rick glanced at his mother in disbelief she would share false and misleading information.

"Well, Todd is an aspiring novelist, Richard, so I shared with him your inspiring tale of triumph over adversity."

"Well, how courageous of me." Castle said, "Good luck, Todd."

"Thanks! I'll take the year-long package." Todd handed Martha a cheque.

Martha accepted the payment as she said, "Way to be decisive, kiddo. Good for you. I'll see you next week."

Todd looked at Castle, smiled, "Nice meeting you."

Martha walked Todd out of the office. Once they were on their way to the front door Rick grabbed his mother's name plaque off his desk and walked to the kitchen.

With Todd gone, Martha followed her son.

Castle said, "Well, nice to see all those years as an actress have really paid off. Focus on calibrating your creative energies?"

Martha said, "I'll have you know, Todd is a very bright spirit in need of direction."

"Mother, it's bad enough that you're slandering me, do you have to commandeer my office to do your new-age coddle session?"

"Richard, you can't expect me to pay Manhattan rates for office space."

Castle set Martha's name plaque down on the kitchen table as he silently counted to ten before he suggested, "Well, how about this? You cannot beat this location. Proximity to beverages and sharp utensils."

"Sweetheart, as your life coach, I urge you to say nay to your inner naysayer. I call that a Martha-ism."

Castle opened the fridge door, grabbed a beer and passed one to his mother.

"How is it that you don't know who my father is, you don't know how your ex-husband stole all your money, yet you are giving life-coaching advice?"

"Mistakes are the building blocks of wisdom. A Martha-ism. Besides, Freud was an addict. It didn't stop him from helping people."

Castle said, "Sadly, faced with his mother's twisted-yet-unimpeachable logic, Richard Castle's head exploded."

"Ah, well. So, why are you home so early?"

"Well, thought I'd take a little breather. Working on a, uh, kidnapping case. A little girl."

Martha said, "No wonder you're so surly. Those poor parents, having a child ripped away. I can't imagine how they must feel."

"Is Alexis home, Mom?

"She's upstairs, Honey."

Castle said, "Feeling a deep-seated need for a hug."

Martha said, "Perfectly understandable. After all, we are pod-mates. Another Martha-ism. I call it the pea pod bond. You know, the bond that exists between parent and child. You and me. You and Alexis. We're all peas in a pod and, whether we like it or not, everyone who's ever had a child is in the pod forever."

"The pea pod bond." Rick said smiling.

"Yeah."

Castle called out, "Alexis!" Then took a swig of his beer finishing it, "Thank you, Mother. I'll deduct my session fee from your rent."

Martha said, "What? Whoa, whoa. You might want to consider the yearlong package. It's a bargain."

Rick approached the stairs and looked up to see Alexis coming down the stairs. He ambushed her with a hug, a big hug.

Alexis drew back a little, "What was that for?"

Castle said, "Just a pea pod thing. Gram will explain. I gotta go." He kissed her head then let her go as he headed for the front door.


	43. Chapter 43

_Happy Sunday. Some of your comments a nothing short of touching. WOW. Thank you. I like it that you enjoy this story. I love writing it. My aim was to write a story between the story and I want to continue with it as far as I can manage. I'm ahead of this portion by a fair bit and believe me, its hard in season two to figure out which way to send them on their journey. A lot of factors weigh in._

 **Chapter 43**

Late at night, all was quiet in the Candela house.

Beckett restlessly wandered the apartment unable to settle in the strange house. She longed to be at home, in her recluse, settled on her favourite arm chair, with a glass of wine, a magazine or a novel to read. Even just to be in bed, snuggled beneath the blankets was appealing. She was hungry and thirsty. It had been a long day in which weariness had set in hours ago.

In search of a refreshment, she entered the kitchen. She was surprised to find Sorenson at the counter, pouring a cup of coffee. He seemed sombre, more so than normally. He had always been a quiet guy on the job, when they had dated but out of work, he'd been fun and active. He took his career as seriously as she did.

"Hey," she softly greeted.

"Hey, yourself. Want some?" He pointed at his mug.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied. Sorenson filled another cup with coffee as she spoke, "So, I just got word from my guys that Ellers is definitely a dead end. The owner over at Paradise Diner on East 62nd vouched that he was having his usual poached eggs this morning." She accepted the coffee from him and nodded her thanks.

"Would have been too easy, right? Or over-easy." He smirked.

She looked at him in thought, then smiled at his humour and commented, "That's like something Castle would say."

Sorenson immediately smirked, glanced over her expression then said, "You like him."

She pulled a face and shrugged her shoulders a little, "No. I just, um... I don't know. I think he's interesting."

He gazed over her face, physically quite close to her now, "So you're not...?"

"Together?" Kate rapidly thought this one out. The plan was to let everyone think they were single, "No..." she replied, feeling an immediate pinch of guilt in her abdomen. However, she was sticking to their agreement of total secrecy. They were both single.

Sorenson saw it as an opportunity, "I meant to call. Must've picked up the phone a dozen times."

"Yeah, I know. You meant to do a lot of things. That's why you left, remember?" Right in that instance, she decided that reminding him that he was the one who left her, might also tell him not to pursue something with her tonight, tomorrow, forever.

"But Boston was a great opportunity," he replied breathing in deeper.

Kate watched his face, noticed he breathed deep enough to absorb her scent and his eyes slowly took her in. It was all over his face he was fond of her, and she liked him, but not as a boyfriend anymore. "I'm not saying that it wasn't. I'm just saying it was a choice. That didn't include me."

"You could've come. We talked about it."

"And then done what? Join the Boston PD, and then you have to move to Phoenix, and then Cleveland? And then you're back here. I mean, we both know what that life is all about," she said in almost a whisper so as not to wake any of the family sleeping or to get the attention of the other agents in the living room.

"Didn't stop me from missing you, Kate. Missing us," he said, "Our Sundays in the park. Those ridiculous neon ice skates at Rockefeller Center." He laughed.

Kate smiled, her mind unlocking fond memories she had secured away after he had left New York. Left her. Keeping her emotions camouflaged, she replied with a higher tone, "I will have you know that those ice skates are awesome."

"It wasn't the skates," Sorenson said closing in so he was inches from her. Beckett couldn't step back as she was already against a wall. Her eyes momentarily lowered to his lips.

"Will, I- I'm..." Her fingers lightly pressed against his chest to prevent his advance.

Sorenson persisted and went in for a kiss. He took her hand. He lowered it, held it. The kiss was hot, reminded her of their intimacy. She internally fought with herself. A charge of emotions soared within her. She pictured Rick. His kiss and touch. She tried to pull away. Fought for the freedom of her hand.

Castle walked into the kitchen.

He stopped, rapidly taking in the scene.

"Oh!" He began, "I thought cops and Feds hated each other," he dryly stated, his eyes staring at Sorenson. Jealousy. Anger.

Kate pushed away, slipping from between the wall and Sorenson to the other side of the kitchen.

Everything shot to awkward for the three adults.

"They say justice never sleeps. I think I know why," Castle said.

"We were just, uh..." Kate started but tailed off, unsure of exactly what had just happened and how much he'd seen and heard. She wiped her mouth. Too much was going on inside. Every thought was about Rick and how much he'd just seen.

Rick held out an arm towards her, "Being consenting adults," he cut in, his eyes staying on Sorenson's, "I'm not judging, Kate," he reassured.

She wasn't sure about how Rick was really reacting, but she felt uncomfortable, anxious, "Umm.. I thought I told you to go home," she said with more confidence.

"I did go home, but then my mother told me something that couldn't wait."

Surprised, Sorenson asked, "You live with your mother?"

"Yeah. Apparently, we're peas in a pod. But the important point is, Angela's adopted."

"So?" Kate said confused by the events and the the conversation.

"So, prior to giving up her baby, the birth mother would've been given background on the Candelas. Specifically, their ability to support the child."

Beckett began to focus, "Knowledge of their finances." She looked to Sorenson, inspired by Rick's idea.

"Really, Kate? We're going to waste time on the insights of Nancy Drew here?"

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Rick intercepted before Kate had a chance to respond. "Because Nancy Drew solved every case. Look, okay, and I'm quoting here, when a child's life is at stake, we have to be sure. Which means we have to question everything we think we know."

Kate and Sorenson met eyes, and Kate nodded indicating she agreed with Castle.

"We'll pick this up in the morning. I'll get my agents to investigate that path. Find out who the mother is and we can interview her tomorrow. Kate, you go home, and take writer boy with you."

"Alright. I'll call you on my way in tomorrow," she said a little taken aback by his tone. However, it was pure relief that washed over Kate once Sorenson gave her the order to quit for the night.

"Good night, Kate." Sorenson said, staring down Castle who maintained the stare right back.

Kate sensed the writer wanted to hit Sorenson, and hit him hard.

She needed space. A lot of space. She and Will needed to get away from each other because she was quickly losing control of her thoughts and feelings. His kiss had brought back many fine and happy memories, had aroused feelings within that she had believed were dead and buried. It was gone nine months since they had dated, and all the pain he caused when he left, was starting to bubble to the surface. She had once considered he was the guy for her. She knew now that they were through.

She walked out of the kitchen in silence, her heals sounding louder on the floorboards than she wanted. People were sleeping. For once, she didn't summon Castle to run after her. She had been conscious of the air between the two men all day, and concluded it had escalated significantly in the last few minutes, and didn't wish to be a part of it.

She kissed Sorenson.

No.

Sorenson kissed her.

She was in a relationship with Castle.

Kate didn't know what to do with that.

Sorenson had dictated, and she hadn't anticipated his actions.

She had unknowingly volunteered. Perhaps she had been too tired to recognise his moves. She was usually good at that sort of stuff. Not tonight.

A part of her felt victimised, like a choice had been taken from her.

Rick came after her, and he caught up as she grabbed her jacket and bag that had been stashed nearby the entrance. He stopped about a foot from her. As she straightened up she looked at his face, noting he wasn't happy.

The writer didn't say anything as they exited the house but he followed close behind. She was afraid he would say something. She was anxious because he didn't say a word.

This was the first time in his presence she'd truly felt uncomfortable.

As she took the steps out of the dwelling, Kate breathed deeply, grateful for the fresh air. It cleared her mind, enabled her to regain a little control. The FBI agent who guarded the front entrance, closed and locked the door once they were outside on the pavement. Kate continued to stride towards her unit, thinking she would keep the car for the night and park it at home in her car space. Rick fell in at her side easily able to keep with her pace. His presence comforted and unnerved her. She didn't pull on her coat, as the night was mild and the car was close by. Her cheeks were slowly cooling. That had certainly been an awkward moment in the kitchen, like the day her dad had caught her kissing a boy outside school one afternoon, but in reality, it was worse.

Far worse.

Much, much worse that her current boyfriend had caught her being kissed by her ex-boyfriend.

She hadn't planned on it. Either part of it. The kiss or being sprung.

She walked with gritted teeth, seething inside because Will had kissed her but more so because she'd let him. Guys always had this way of trying to coerce her into things. Even Rick was guilty of that. He'd insisted on following her in the first place. What couple spent all their time together?

"Geezus, fucking, Christ," she whispered to herself, fully aware Rick heard her. In response, he cleared his throat and she sensed his gaze momentarily upon her. However, they walked on in silence to the vehicle and Rick stepped to the passenger side. Kate paused, wondering what he was planning.

"I'm going home, Castle." Her tone was firm. She was extremely embarrassed about the kiss but didn't want him to know it, so she acted out on him instead. "Good night."

"You don't want to talk about…" He stopped, realising there might be an FBI agent or a cop within hearing range. He also saw she wasn't in a mood to discuss what had happened back there. "No, you don't."

"No," she confirmed.

"Did it hurt falling out of heaven, Kate?"

She paused, glared at him, brow furrowed. "Fall out of heaven? That's not fair!" That had hurt. "I don't claim perfection, Rick. You weren't…." She stopped, choking on the constriction in her throat, unable to speak. She coughed.

"I was there." He stated, then dropped his foul attitude. "I'm sorry I said that."

"I probably deserve it." She replied.

He calmly asked, "Would you run me home, please? I won't get a taxi out here this time of the night."

She pressed her lips together, noted he had seemingly calmed down, then unlocked the car, saying, "Get in."

The silence was deafening in the car during the ride to his apartment. Both kept their eyes to the front. To make it worse, she copped red lights at every intersection. For the entire trip, Kate experienced a bizarre internal battle of love and hate, right and wrong, guilt and panic, and she didn't have a path out of the forest. Experiences of life had failed to set her up to handle this situation.

Outside of Castle's place she pulled over to the curb. The car was put into park as she glanced at the time. It was almost 1.30 am. She wanted to go home to bed but she was positive Rick had something to say just by the way he remained seated and tapped his fingers on his thigh, but unclipped his belt. She turned enough to face him. She waited, anxious.

He swallowed, then looked over at her from her head to waist and back. "I know you don't like to talk about things but we need to talk about this."

"Okay," she quietly agreed.

"Good," Then he calmly stated, "You kissed him, Kate."

"He kissed me," she corrected immediately, then swallowed the second she realised how stupid she sounded. "He put me against the wall." She looked at him, his frown, that widened her eyes, "I was stuck."

"Stuck. You could physically kill him, if you wanted to. I've seen you fight."

She huffed and frowned, "Yes. But I mean, he asked me if we were together. I had to say no. It's what we agreed to do, Castle, if we got asked. We didn't discuss being kissed by ex's and I don't have many of them."

"Are you implying I have a lot of ex-girlfriends?"

"No," she sighed in exasperation then repeated softer, "No. If I did tell him that we were together I know it would not be a secret for much longer." She closed her mouth, when she saw his expression. At first, she thought she'd said too much but then he seemed to accept her excuse, her pattern of thought at the time, but he was also clearly upset about what had happened.

"Okay," he said, "I can deal with it because I probably would have done the same thing. But the thing is Kate, you still have feelings for him."

"No!" She hotly objected, "No. I don't," her voice shot up an octave. Simultaneously, anguish surged up from deep inside that problems were going to burst their little lust bubble, that she was about to be hit with a good dose of reality. Confronted with a sudden urge to cry, she pressed the heel of her right hand to her chest, held her breath. She couldn't help but confess. "This hurts, Rick."

"Yes, it does, and we've only been together two months-"

Kate cut in, "Nearly two months, in four days it will be two great months," she shyly finished with, "I got you something already."

Rick smirked, "She is counting the days until their two month anniversary. That eases his mind." He narrated.

"He bought her jewellery, a necklace, for their first month. She loves it. Cherishes it," she whispered.

"And he's planning to buy her a novel she mentioned she wanted. Little gifts. It's the thought that counts." He peered out the window at his entrance as he asked, "And what was your first thought, Kate?"

The Detective stared at him several seconds before she shyly replied, "You. I wanted it to be you kissing me. Confusion, a lot of confusion."

He looked at her eyes, his face quite serious, "Really?"

"To what?"

"You wanted it to be me?"

"Of course." It was in that second Kate realised how insecure he was. The larger than life writer was insecure. "Really."

"This is unordinary, what we have."

For several seconds Kate started out the window, listened to his breathing, watched a young man walk along the sidewalk past them.

"Scandalous." She muttered to herself, which caused Rick to direct his entire attention to her. She made the decision not to go down the negative path, to see the lighter side of it.

"Why so?" Is all he asked.

"A secret passionate love affair between a cop and a famous author. An ex-lover kissing me. People write novels about this sort of stuff, Castle."

He chuckled, "Yeah. Maybe you should be the writer. I always wanted to be a cop."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "What happened Kate, before I walked in?" He asked quietly, "I want the background story."

There were a few seconds of silence, then she answered, "We were talking, reflecting a little. It happened fast. Rick, nothing is black and white because our relationship isn't. It's all grey and there are many forms of grey," she stressed, "Yes, I could have pushed him back, but I didn't. I could have said I was with you but that was against the rules of our agreement." Kate wiped beneath her eyes. She was confused and tired. The day had dragged up many professional and personal memories she had tried hard to forget. "Castle, I'm new to all this. An ex-boyfriend has never kissed me, and I've never lived a secret love affair."

"You should have pushed Will off you," he calmly said, "But in fairness to you, he probably didn't give you the chance to even think. If I were him, I would have tried the same thing. And you're right. The situation we have put ourselves in has created a lot of grey and murky areas we will have to wade through, together." He put his hand on her thigh and stroked it. "It's okay. We're learning from it and being honest. We've talked through it."

"I'm sorry I didn't react," Kate sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Mistakes are the building blocks of wisdom."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, just something my mother told me earlier. Maybe she was right." He said as he looked over her face. He reached out and touched her cheek.

She whispered, "Castle. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Wish I could kiss you," he whispered and lightly brushed his thumb over her lips. She smiled a little. "Until tomorrow, Kate."

She raised her eyes to his. "Good night, Rick."

He got out the car, closed the door and walked across the pavement to the entry of his building. Once he disappeared inside without looking back to her with his usual wave, Kate put the car in reverse, pulled out then hung a U-turn and drove home. It wasn't resolved which gravely upset Kate.

It took about seven minutes to drive between their homes, and she used that time to process what had happened with Sorenson and consequently Rick. Less than a quarter hour after she had dropped off Rick, she locked the door to her apartment and slung her bag and coat on a chair. She walked through to her bedroom where she pulled off her boots and clothing. She needed a shower but she also wanted to know something. It had bothered her most of the evening. From the top drawer of her bedside table she retrieved a tray of birth control pills.

Three days into the white pills and nothing.

"Shit."

This was bad.

She tossed the tray dismissively into the drawer, slammed it shut and headed for the bathroom. She couldn't deal with this right now.

Relationship with boyfriend on the rocks.

No period.

Clothes were thrown in the wash basket and she turned on the shower.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!" She got the water to the right temperature then stepped under the flow of hot water.

For a long time after he returned home, Rick sat in a leather chair in the study, a glass of Scotch in his hand. He didn't have his phone nearby, a laptop on or the TV running. He was busy with processing those few seconds in the kitchen and the conversation in the car. He thought about seeing Kate kiss another man and dwelled on what he had internally experienced because of it. There had been a sudden jab of jealousy like he'd never felt before, and there was no denying that he'd had a powerful urge to punch Sorenson for hitting on Kate. But in fairness to the FBI agent, he understood Kate was single. The fact was, Rick didn't like it that people thought she was single, that he was too. However, this was the decision they had made when they started this relationship.

Moping into the wee hours of the night, he also realised that Kate wasn't as snappy or assertive when it came to personal issues like she would be at work. The cop persona was an act, like she pretended to everyone she disliked him.

There was another thing that bothered him that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Kate had been a little distracted by something the past day or so. When he'd asked her if there was something amiss, she'd told him all was good. He didn't think it was.

He tipped his head back as he downed the final drop of alcohol. It was time for bed.

Not waving her off when he'd exited the car has unsettled him, was an act he wouldn't normally do and he was sure it would have upset Kate. It was way too late to text her now, but in a few hours, he would fair well Alexis to school and then go see Kate.


	44. Chapter 44

_Thanks for the feedback. Its time I reminded readers that when I started writing this, I made a rule I had to stick with the core story line and work within that. Sometimes its hard. The other rule is "when there's romance, there is also a good dose of reality". If you've read my stories then you know I like to provoke a reaction and I source real situations and life experience to write. I'm not eighteen, I'm not thirty, I'm not forty. Not fifty or sixty either_ _._

 _Your feed back, and comments that you're dying to know where this story goes, make me smile and feel good. I'm happy I can allow you such excitement, that you look forward to ready more. Contents me. Its awesome._

 **Chapter 44**

Movement on the mattress, not caused by Kate, brought her from sleep and she opened her eyes to see Rick clambering quickly towards her with a boyish grin. His cologne was fresh, aroused her body's desires.

However, the brain was onto other matters and it was her brow that furrowed, as she questioned, "Castle, what are you doing here?"

"I'm taking you for breakfast. Its about time you woke up. I've waited long enough." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "Good morning, Kate."

She smiled as she reached her arms up and around his neck. She dragged him down and repeatedly kissed his lips his cheek.

"Kate in the morning." He murmured into her hair with fondness, which was followed with laugher as his body collapsed alongside hers.

"Huh?" She stroked the side of his head.

"You are very cute when you're sleeping. I was watching you sleep for a while."

Her smile faded and for several seconds, they remained silent staring into each other's eyes. His expression sobered, "What's wrong?"

"Umm." She gazed over his face, "I thought you were angry at me."

"I was. Not now."

"Me too. At myself."

"Mm. How did you know?" He inquired.

"You didn't turn about and wave me goodbye. I waited."

He put his hand to her shoulder, frowned "I know. I'm sorry 'bout that. I was pissed off that he kissed you, but this morning I can see the flaws in our plan. So, I was thinking…"

"Mm?" She waited with anticipation.

"Umm… why don't we invite Sorenson over one night for a threesome." He suggested biting his lower lip, then waited, watched. It was with pure enjoyment he witnessed the transition of her expression from confusion to utter disgust and objection.

"No!" She squawked pushing against his chest.

He laughed like a teenage boy, "Classic." He rolled to his back.

Her fist landed on his upper arm. She punched him. He yelped then laughed harder, "Castle!" She went to sit up but he hooked his arm about her waist and lifted her to his body.

"Oh Baby, your face. You almost had a meltdown." He assisted as she untidily clambered onto his body, to settle straddled over his pelvis. His hands went to her hips for a bit then he rolled them so he was above her body, she flat on her back. They were on the other side of the bed.

"I was having a meltdown."

He brushed back her hair. "As if I would share you with another man."

"I won't share you with another woman." She firmly stated then kind of gave him a quirky smile, "But I guess I could make the exception, call Sorenson and see what he's doing Saturday night. Just saying."

He chuckled, "No, Honey. No way you're gonna do that," he replied, "I'm more than enough man for you."

Kate's hand glided down his body to his jeans, "Mm. Large claim. Well, if you let me go to the bathroom, you could perhaps get your clothes off."

"Sure." Rick rolled off her, then took her hand as she got off the bed, using him as support.

A few minutes later when she returned to the bedroom Rick was seated on the side of the bed, still clothed. "Why aren't you undressed?" Kate soft asked as approached him. We her hands to his shoulders she climbed upon his lap.

His hands rested at her waist. "Because I want you to go get ready for work and I will take you for breakfast. If we stay in bed, you will be late for work. Let's put foreplay on the menu for the day."

She gave him a quirky smile. "Okay." She pressed her lips to his and stayed there a little while then smiled. "I'll go get ready."

They sat around a round table in Kate's favourite eatery for breakfast, a small French bakery not far from her apartment where they regularly ate mainly because it served croissants to die for. The coffee wasn't bad either. Like the other times they'd dined there, two mugs of coffee and a plate of crumbs were between them. Her hand was held by his and he stroked near her thumb. She repeatedly stole crumbs from the plate by sticking them to her finger tips, a habit Rick was sure she'd practised since childhood.

After some discussion and brainstorming, their plan of action had been created in the event either one was to be advanced upon by a party of the opposite sex. Rick was more than happy about resolving the problem mainly because he was certain Kate would be the one who would be asked out all the time by other men.

Rick checked on the time aware there was only a matter of minutes before they needed to be on their way to the Precinct for the Detective to clock in. He looked at Kate, at her hazel eyes watching him. He gazed about, sure that something bothered her apart from the incident with the FBI agent. He just had to go through list of things that generally bothered or worried Kate that he knew of, and one of those worries seemed quite obvious when he gave it some thought. Contemplating whether he would bring it up, he sat back, letting his eye line return to the brunette woman. To him she was imperfectly beautiful. She was human and adorable. He wanted to see that little sign of worry leave her eyes. He drew in a deeper breath, caressed her hand with this bringing her attention back to him.

"You're late," he murmured.

Immediately Kate's eyes widened, stared straight into his blue eyes, spooked by his statement. She went to say something but only her jaw relaxed. No words came. His free hand lifted and stroked hair from the side of her face. He leaned in closer his expression urging her to say something.

"That's what's been worrying you," he suggested.

She nodded.

"I knew something was up."

"How?"

"I know you, Kate."

She looked away, blinked. It concerned Rick she was going to cry.

"I'm late." She confirmed, "Can't figure out where I messed up."

"You didn't. How late?"

"Three days, just on."

"You've been stressed," he commented. "The case, us."

"Only time in a long while," she replied, her hand covered his.

He cupped the side of her face, and she dropped her hand to her lap as he said, "It's okay for you to be late."

Entirely involved in their conversation, she calmly asked, "What if I'm pregnant, Rick?"

"That's okay." He continued, "We will be fine. We would make great babies."

She smiled, "Yes, we would."

"It will be okay," he reassured, "to have a family."

"You have a kid."

Rick rubbed his jaw, slightly amused by her comment, then said, "You don't."

"Rick …" She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "It will come." She said which he thought was self-reassurance.

He picked up his mug and had a few sips of coffee. There was an overpowering urge to know more about his girlfriend, her wants and dreams, "You don't want kids?"

She breathed in deeply, thinking about how she would answer the question. She smiled and opened her eyes again, "How about we wait a day or so, huh before we talk more?"

"We can do that. But you need to know that you deserve to be happy to have what you want, and if that's a family some time in the future, that's okay with me."

Her lips were pressed together, and she fidgeted once Rick put his hand down. She glanced to their joined hands, "Castle?"

"Mm?"

"I will tell you if I get it."

"You'd better." He smiled.

She squeezed his hand, "Castle?"

"Mm?" He raised an eyebrow, amused by their conversation.

"You know when Will and I broke up it wasn't because things went bad between us. He took a job in Boston, a promotion, asked me to go with him but I wanted, I needed to stay in New York. After he was gone, I was forced to suppress a lot of emotions I still had for him."

"And now?"

"I have far stronger feelings for you. Different to anyone else with you." She squeezed his fingers. "I hope you feel the same about me. What happened last night only served to strengthen what feelings I have for you."

"That's reassuring." He leaned in once again with a smile and whispered, "No matter what, Kate. I'm right here."

She gave him a nod. "I kind of know." She smiled warmly, glanced at the time as he did, "We need to go."

"Yes." He looked at their joined hands, gave her a soft squeeze then released her hands, "Drink your coffee, my Detective girlfriend."

Immediately a grin appeared, then laughter as she picked up her mug. "My writer boy." She cheekily replied.

Rick scratched his head, "Better than some things I've been called, I guess."

"Drink your coffee." She ordered.

"It's time to interrogate the natural mother." Beckett said as she got up from her desk. The team had just spent a while discussing the case, updating events that happened during the night.

"Take the FeeBee with you," Rick said as he nodded toward the square jawed agent who waited for the detective. She acknowledged and strolled off. Rick watched her ass swing with emphasis aware she was stirring him, but also observed Sorenson giving him the stare of a challenge.

Rick smirked with amusement, partial cockiness. If only the agent knew that Kate was his, what an idiot he was making of himself. Beckett and Sorenson walked to the interrogation room. Rick took the time to finish his coffee then followed a while later but went to the viewing room to watch the interview of the baby's natural mother, Lucia Gomez. It was almost over by the time he got there. Lucia's signature had been forged. Beckett established the natural father was in the country. He had returned from a tour of Iraq and was now a person of interest.

With it resolved the mother wasn't involved, about a half hour later Rick found himself standing idly in a parking garage keeping company with Ryan and Esposito. It was mostly about observing his team of detectives in action. He watched Beckett and Sorenson approach Juan Restrepo, who detailed a car. Beckett called out to identify herself but as soon as Restrepo saw Beckett's badge, he took off sprinting down the off ramp straight. Juan reached the bottom within seconds and ran right into Castle, Ryan, and Esposito.

Ryan shouted, "Get your hands up. Hit the ground. On the ground!"

The young man hit the ground face down his limbs out. Ryan and Esposito moved in to cuff him. They lifted him off the concrete and held him as Beckett caught up. Castle circled the detectives, and happened to meet up with Sorenson on the side, within ear shot of Beckett who spoke to Restrepo.

Castle stepped closer to Sorenson. He kind of pointed in the general direction of Beckett, "What? No good cop, bad Fed?"

Sorensen frowned, "The guy did two tours in the Gulf. I go over there, he'd turn it into a pissing match. But Kate, she's got a way of sneaking up on people."

"You mean like last night?" Rick inquired gazing into the back of Juan's beat-up Corolla. To his annoyance, Sorenson didn't take the bait. Esposito and Ryan inspected the contents of the interior of Juan's car. Ryan picked through a pile of fast food wrappers in the filthy front seat. Sorenson, also gloved, inspected the trunk. Beckett questioned Restrepo, unware of what her team were up to.

Ryan groaned out, "Can you believe this? He details cars for a living. He could have a little more pride in his ride."

"It's full of shit." Sorenson added as he closed the trunk.

Castle continued to follow him, harbouring strong emotions about Sorenson's actions the night before. "I'm just saying," he said, "Looked like quite a kiss."

There was a pause in Will's step and he looked at Castle, "You jealous, Castle?"

"Me?" Rick smirked like a wise ass, internally wondering where his behaviour was coming from. "No. Though you have to admit, I was right."

"You are jealous. That I hooked her."

Rick scoffed, but stepped in closer to the FBI agent, "What's there to be jealous of? You couldn't reel her in."

"We'll see about that," Sorenson replied then raised his eyes to Rick's clearly willing to take on the challenge the writer seemed to push for.

About two seconds ticked over, that Rick used to weigh up his options. Retreat while it was amicable or push on with antagonism. The temptation to press the agent's buttons was too strong to ignore.

"Too late," he hissed so no one else heard. He glared at the Fed's blue eyes, his expression deadly serious. He repeated, "Too late."

Sorenson glanced to Beckett, then back to the writer, "Too late?" He challenged, "I don't think so."

"She's off the market, _Mate_." Rick stated then backed off, pointing at himself.

Not an hour later, Beckett, Sorenson, and Castle stood together in the breakroom where they could see through the door into the bull pen where Ryan and Juan were seated at Ryan's desk talking.

Beckett had a mug of coffee she sipped on, "I established the father had been trying to find out if his daughter was okay at the garage." She said to the men.

"You also mentioned he had an alibi," Rick replied.

Esposito entered the break room from the bullpen. "Yo."

"Mm?" Kate responded.

"He's the birth dad. Story checks out. Limo company had him doing their fleet yesterday."

Beckett nodded, "Thanks, Espo. Cut him loose."

"Sure." Esposito gave Beckett a nod, glanced at Sorenson and Castle with an odd expression then headed back to Ryan's desk.

"Wasn't him." Kate muttered, mainly to point out to Sorenson that it was time to give up his persistence that Juan was the kidnapper. It didn't make sense.

Sorenson said, "I don't care. He had motive and opportunity."

Castle said, "His motive was the instinct of fatherhood. If he took her, he'd have been with her. Not at some twelve-dollar-an-hour detailing job."

"Doesn't matter. I want ESU on his place," Sorenson insisted.

Kate's brow flattened out, her eyes appeared darker, "It's not him, Will," she firmly said. "We're at square freakin' one, and we've got nothing." She put down her coffee and faced up to the FBI agent, "You can send ESU wherever you want, but I'm not losing this one." Frustrated, she walked away from the men into the bullpen, her heels loud on the floor. Castle raised an eyebrow in response to Beckett's strong reaction.

Sorenson and Castle stared at each other for several moments. Rick glanced out at Kate, then back to Sorenson, and pointed in her general direction, "What did she mean when she said she's not losing this one?"

"The case we worked."

"I thought you got the guy."

"We did, but..." Sorenson paused, sighed, then added, "The kid was already dead."

Castle absorbed that, looked to where Beckett went. Sorenson's phone began to ring which he picked up, "Sorenson." He greeted then listened, "On my way."

Sorenson hurried to Beckett in the bullpen. "Kate, there's been another call about the ransom."

"Really?"

"We need to get to Candela's apartment.

The Candela household in which Castle, Beckett, and Sorenson stood was bustling with activity. There was an air of urgency. Sorenson and Will studied a map on the kitchen counter.

Sorenson said, "Once they get paid, there's no incentive to keep her alive. So, I'll make the drop. Figure we'll place our people at a one-block radius from the mailbox-"

Alfred who overheard them replied, "No. They said no cops."

Everyone looked to the tall lean male as Sorenson said, "It's okay. I've done this before. They won't know I'm an FBI agent."

"And if they do?"

Beckett said, "Mr. Candela, we need this to go as smoothly as possible."

Alfred said, "She's my daughter and we're going to follow their instructions to the letter. They said no cops. Look, I'm her father and I can do this. Do I make myself clear?' He insisted.

Sorenson nodded. Seemingly satisfied he'd confirmed the arrangements, Alfred turned and left the room.

Sorenson guardedly said, "No way we can send the father. Too many things could go wrong. He's too emotional."

Beckett who stared to where the father had gone, asked, "What choice do we have?"

"Me," Castle replied.

Beckett's head spun to see Rick, eyes widened as she asked, "What?

Castle said, "I'm not a cop. I'm certainly not emotional."

Sorenson replied, "No. Absolutely not."

Castle said, "The NYPD already has a signed waiver from me. And, I don't like saying this, but you're running out of time."

Beckett said, "Castle's right."

Sorenson said, "You can't be serious.

Beckett said, "He's been with me on cases before. He's good under pressure. And he's our best shot."

"I hope you're right."

"She's right."

When Sorenson looked at Kate, she nodded, even if she was worried about Rick's welfare.

"I'll be right." Rick affirmed.

"All $100 bills?" Rick asked.

"Mm." Beckett replied, "They asked for seventy-five packs of hundreds, randomized serial numbers and warned against bait, money, dye packs, and trackers. They were detailed, Castle, right down to the make, model, and color of the backpack."

"And now we wait for their call." He nodded, his gaze momentarily in the direction of the family room then said quietly so only Kate would hear, "The Candelas are on edge and arguing constantly which is agitating the FBI team."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I think its escalated since the demand for the ransom."

"I dunno Beckett, their demand for a civilian, not a cop to make the drop, or they would kill the girl, might heighten stress levels. The FBI got proof of life, now we just need to reclaim their child." He raised an eyebrow, his concern all over his face.

"I would kill anything in my path to get back what was mine." Kate said.

Rick glanced out the door before he said, "I hope that includes me. I'd die for you."

"Me too. Don't you go being stupid out there, Rick. You're not a cop," she softy said.

"You'll be there. The boys will be there. I'll be fine," he reassured.

A female FBI Technician tapped on the wall interrupting their conversation. Castle and Beckett moved apart a little.

"Hi, are you the person I was assigned, to set up a microphone on?"

The writer smiled. "That's me. I'm Rick, this is Kate."

"I'm Agent Leonie Crawford. Hi."

"Hey." Kate greeted. "You gonne wire him up?" She sat on a chair to get out of the way of the technician who was about to start her work on Rick.

"Yep."

Kate smirked, "You might find him ticklish in a few places." She said and immediately saw Rick's eyes widen in warning. Kate shrugged a shoulder dismissively and continued, "He's a terrible partner in tackle games, as he laughs too much when I get a hold on his ribs." She added rescuing her own slip up.

"I know where you're ticklish, Beckett," he warned.

As the woman untangled a wire she casually replied, "You two sound like you spend a lot of time together."

"We're partners. We work together some long hours." Rick replied, "Surprising what you find out about someone."

"So many layers," Kate remarked.

With the agent and Beckett in his presence, Rick stood in the abducted child's bedroom watching his girlfriend keep a possessive eye on the other woman. It was subtle, but he noticed it. As the woman began to thread a wire under Castle's shirt, he gasped, "Cold hands. Cold hands." He quickly pulled away from the woman's hands. She paused, looked at his eyes, as he boyishly smiled.

Kate frowned at him, at his inability to act sensibly, "These people are dangerous, Castle. You need to stay alert and focused," she said.

"Alert and focused, got it." Castle gasped again as the tech's hands brushed his skin again. "Maybe if you, maybe if you just rub them together for a second," he suggested. The FBI tech smiled, shook her head, and continued to work. Rick turned his attention back to Kate, "Wait, alert and what?"

Beckett gave him a stare.

"I'm just kidding." He grinned boyishly.

"You're good to go." Agent Crawford said with a smile.

"Thanks." Castle buttoned up the rest of his shirt as the FBI agent exited the room. Castle looked at Beckett, noticed her concern showed now they were alone. "Hey. It's gonna be okay." He lightly reassured.

Beckett fidgeted on her feet, then focussed on Rick, "Look, about last night, what happened in the kitchen, I had a think after..- I just..."

"Oh, listen, You don't need to explain that, that's...we sorted that out earlier." He reassured, "Don't have to explain."

"I don't-"

"Unless you want to. But we talked it through, Kate."

"Uh... no, you know, I just wanted you to know I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I- I just figured for the character, for Nikki Heat..." She explained stepping closer to him.

"Yeah, y- I think- I think I understand Nikki better than you think I do." Rick said although he was thinking about Kate. "We just need to stick to our plan in the future." He suggested and she nodded her agreement.

"I don't want it to happen again." She confirmed, then glanced through the doorway before she said, "Be careful, okay?" She said in a soft voice.

"Do I detect actual concern for my well-being?"

"Screw this up and I'll kill you." Beckett said.

Rick smiled, "That's more like it."

Parked in a nondescript vehicle with an uninterrupted view of a mailbox Beckett and Sorenson observed Castle who carried a green backpack as he walked toward the designated mailbox on a busy street. They talked to him over radio transmitters.

"Okay, I have eyes on the target. Over." Rick said through the transmitter then it slightly crackled and fell silent. Seconds later he asked, "Are you reading me?"

Kate rolled her eyes, partially amused by the writer. She picked up the transmitter then said, "We don't have to read you, we can see you. Now shut up and focus."

Grinning, Castle replied, "Roger that. Five by five."

Sorenson smiled, amused by the writer, and looked at Kate, "You know, he's quite a guy. If he only knew how big a fan you really are," he teased.

Kate gave Will a look, "Yeah, well, he's not going to know," she said straight up.

"You never told him how you stood in line for an hour just to get your book signed? How his novels got you through your mother's death?"

Beckett stared Sorenson down, "Is there anything you don't remember?"

"Oh no," he softly replied, watching the writer over the road, "Not when it comes to you."

They shared a look.

Sorenson said, "You're with him."

Kate opened her mouth to object, read his expression, closed her mouth, and gave nod. "Secretly."

He nodded, "Keep it that way, Kate."

"Mm." She looked across the street at Castle crouched down at the side of the mailbox, and reached underneath it.

"I feel like Michael finding the gun taped behind the toilet." He ripped the phone away from the bottom of the mailbox and pulled the tape off. The phone beeped. "Uh. You might want to tell Ryan and Esposito to hang back. They just sent a text. It says, _We're watching you_."

Sorenson suggested, "Could just be a ruse."

"Nope. They just sent another one. It says, _You're wearing a black raincoat_." He glanced at his black jacket then said into the transmitter. "They're right."

Beckett half rolled her eyes then said, "Okay, so they can see you. That doesn't change anything." Her phone beeped with an incoming text. She picked it up and read it.

 _U guys making out?_

Sorenson read the text, "Tell him to stop fooling around."

"Like that'll help."

Castle read the next text. "Okay," he said, looking about him, "It says, cross the street, and head west on East 47th." Castle walked a few steps, then paused a moment. "That's left, right?"

"Right," Beckett said.

"Right, right? Or right, left?" Rick asked

Beckett and Sorenson answered, "Left!"

Castle headed across the street and paused in his gait when the burner phone received another text. "1201 1st. That's just ahead."

Castle continued toward the building he was directed to. He entered the lobby of 1201 1ST Avenue finding quite a crowd inside. As he gazed around, taking in his surroundings he said aloud, "They want me to leave the bag at the shoeshine stand and exit out the side. Alright, I'm at the stand."

In the car, now with no visual on Castle, Sorenson said to Beckett, "Have him make the drop."

Beckett got on the transmitter, "Castle, leave the bag. Make the drop and walk away."

They watched Ryan and Esposito enter the lobby. Ryan said into his wright, "We're in. We don't have him yet."

Castle walked through the lobby and as he passed by a shoe stand he dropped the backpack and kept walking. "I just left it. I'm headed out." He said.

Beckett said, "Esposito, Ryan, you got eyes?"

Espo replied, "I see the shoeshine stand."

Beckett used small binoculars to spot Ryan and Esposito through the lobby glass but she struggled to find even a glimpse of them.

"I can't see them, Will. So many people."

"Popular area."

"Mm." She continued to scan the area, saw Rick leave the lobby at the other end but he was turning in a slow circle.

"You see this Beckett?" Castle asked through the transmitter.

"Oh my God." She momentarily lowered the binoculars, "You gotta see this." She said to Sorenson who took the binoculars.

"What the-?"

They heard Ryan through the transmitter say, "Wait. I got the backpack. Asian male, long hair. I got him, I got him."

Kate picked up the transmitter and said to Castle, "I see it Castle. We were friggin' set up."

Rick dropped his arms, then pushed his right hand through his hair, "We were played."

As they heard Ryan and Esposito say in utter surprise that the lobby was full of people wearing the same backpacks, Kate and Will's eyes met. Kate swallowed, "We can't lose this one, Will."

"Call the team back."

Kate spoke into the transmitter, "Meet back at the Precinct in an hour. We'll debrief there."

Sorenson started the car, "We'll pick up the writer monkey."

Kate glared at Sorenson, who smirked, "C'mon, Kate. I'm having a joke."

"Yeah, well if you call him that to his face be ready because he is relentless with stirring."

"He already has been, Kate. We've been in the playground kicking dirt at each other for a day or so. Puts some fun in it."

Kate stared at him, then looked forward searching for Castle whom she found waiting on the side of the road. She had noticed their head butting but had chosen to ignore is. However, before Castle got in the car she said to Sorenson, "I'm staying out of it."

"Good idea. We're having fun. Two boys. Girl in the mix." He smiled, "I like him, Kate. He's good for you and the team." Sorenson pulled up to the curb as Rick stepped closer and opened the back door. He basically fell into the back seat as the car moved on. H

"Did you see that?" Rick excitedly asked, "All the backpacks! I didn't see that coming."

"None of us did," Sorenson replied.

"I'm going with inside job, Beckett." Rick said when Kate turned about in her seat to look at him.

"I think so too." She agreed. "How about we go back to the apartment and tell the parents then Castle and I will go back to the Precinct."

"Castle?" Kate stopped at the bottom of the stairs to the Precinct entrance and put had hand to his shoulder to cease walk. They'd just stopped for lunch and were heading inside to meet with the boys.

"Mm?"

"In the car, you said you think it's an insider job."

"Yeah. I'm still thinking that."

"Why?"

"The backpack plan was elaborate, took planning. Then, I managed to slip the phone that the kidnappers gave me into the backpack and then its located.."

"Soon after Sorenson told everyone about the phone you planted in the back pack."

"The kidnappers must've found it and taken the battery out." He shrugged his shoulders, looked over her fact, "Something is going on Kate and we're not seeing it." He hurried up the steps to the Precinct ahead of Kate and pulled the door open for her. Inside the foyer, he took hold of her lower arm and pulled her aside for a second.

"This kidnapping case." He said, "I know its scaring you the baby will be harmed or worse, but we will find her, Kate. We will figure this out." He looked about them for a second, "I will meet with the guys, then I'm heading home to have dinner with my family."

She nodded, "Okay. We just need to find the weakest link."

"We will." He glanced at the time. It was almost four pm. "Let's get upstairs. I have about a half hour."

She led him to the elevators as one arrived at ground level. As soon as all the passengers exited they dived in. Alone during the ride up, they stood side by side.

"Its arrived," Kate said.

Rick adjusted his footing, glanced to Kate who watched the numbers.

"Say something," she insisted.

"Told you it would."

She sighed then smiled. "You're not afraid, are you? Of commitment."

He looked at her eyes, his wider than usual, "Of what we have?"

"Mm."

"No. What we have, Kate, it's something else. Nothing about us scares me."

Kate stared at him.

"Now snap out of it. It's time for you to pretend you don't like me tagging along." He nodded towards the floor signals as the elevator tinged their arrival. As the doors opened she walked out.

"I told you not to go to that diner, Castle. It has tasteless buns and today they were stale."

He followed, "Yeah but the shakes were good. I know you love their shakes."  
"Maybe. Did you boys get my message?"

"Yep," Esposito replied, as he jumped out of his seat, "Not much could be got out of that YouTube video."


	45. Chapter 45

_**Merry Christmas and a safe new year.**_

 **Chapter 45**

The day was very early, pre-dawn, when Rick arrived at the Candela's apartment, something he didn't think about at the time he had closed the doorway of the loft not that long ago. The build-up of excitement in his gut was impossible to control and had pushed him out the front door of his home in the wee hours of the morning.

There had been the minor problem of getting into the Candela's apartment, but as it so happened the uniformed officer who was on duty at the main entrance knew Castle, the writer. The officer also knew Castle was partnered up with the as he quoted, 'the hot Detective Beckett'. Castle also knew not to repeat that to the Detective. Quite frankly he liked it that other men thought his girlfriend was hot. She was. She was his boyhood dream. Tall, leggy and brunette. Luck hadn't been his friend with red heads or the bottled blonds, so he hoped fate was giving him a hand with Kate.

The first show morning light seeped in around the window shades, but it was mostly dark in the little girl's bedroom that Castle quietly crept about in. Beckett was asleep on a rocking chair with a blanket over her shoulders. She looked awfully cute and he was briefly reminded of a night he'd found her asleep on the pink occasional chair. Occasional chair. More than occasionally, they'd had the best sex on it. He smiled to himself, mesmerised by the fond memories his imagination brought up while he listened to Kate breathe steadily. He didn't want to wake her up in case he was wrong. He could just hear the feds talking in the living room. He continued his search, tossing soft toys about keeping his flashlight out of Beckett's eye line.

However, Beckett's breathing altered and she soon stirred, opening her eyes to find Castle searching Angela's bed with a flashlight.

"Castle?" She hissed.

"Go back to sleep," he murmured. He peered out the room to ensure no one was around, then leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Hey," he whispered with a smile.

"Hello," she smiled and touched the side of his face briefly, "What are you doing?"

"Looking at you and thinking about how gorgeous you are while you sleep."

She released a little laugh, "No, really?"

He smiled, "Really," then returned to his search.

"You said that yesterday morning."

"I meant it then too."

"What are you doing?" She repeated, more awake.

"When Alexis was little, she had a stuffed monkey that she could not live without. One time we were on vacation, she forgot to pack him. I bought another one, but she knew it was not Monkey-Bunkey."

"So?" Kate sat up, still savouring the tingle of his lips, the touch of his breath on her skin.

"So..." Castle picked up the framed photograph of Angela clutching her bunny in bed and held it up to Beckett. "There's two more pictures of her clutching this bunny out there. So, where's the bunny?"

"You think whoever took Angela knew her well enough to take the bunny, too? But we already checked the Candelas' list. Couple of teenage babysitters, a cleaning lady... They've all been cleared."

"Only not all baby-sitters are teenagers. Sometimes they're people close to us. Sometimes they're family. When did we lose the signal on the phone?"

"Right after we told the Candelas we were tracking it," she whispered then smiled, totally turned on by their conversation. "Like we said yesterday. Inside job."

Rick smiled, "God, that felt good," he whispered, watching her eyes dart between his eyes and lips.

"We're so in sync. We need to tell Sorenson."

"That you're mine or about the soft toy?"

She bit her lip. "The soft toy."

"Ok, keep the other a secret."

"He knows."

"He knows?"

"Yes. FBI Rick."

Rick paused, suddenly aware Sorenson hadn't brought it to Kate's attention, that he had inadvertently told the agent they were a couple, while he was being a bit of a jackass.

"C'mon." Beckett hissed.

They left the child's bedroom and discreetly approached Sorenson who was resting in an armchair in the living room.

Beckett leaned over and whispered. "Wil, Theresa's sister, Nina. You got an address?"

Half asleep he vacantly stared up at Beckett then nodded, "Yeah. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you outa here. C'mon, sleeping beauty, wake up."

"We'll go for a coffee." Rick suggested looking about them. There was no way they could have a conversation in this confined home without raising suspicion. Telling people they were going for coffee wouldn't raise suspicion. They left the house.

An unmarked police vehicle pulled up curbside opposite a small children's playground that surrounded by multi storey domestic buildings. It was barely visible from the street and the occupants of the car couldn't see any children from where they were positioned

"Hold back." Kate said in to the police radio. "But follow us."

"Roger that." Esposito replied.

Beckett, Castle, and Sorenson got out the car. Beckett looked along the road noting Ryan and Esposito were out of their vehicle and behind them two police cars had pulled up. They walked across the road towards the playground.

Mrs Candela's sister, Nina Mendoza, sat on a garden bench by the playground watching over a child in the playground equipment. She noticed the police approached, an anxious expression coming across her face. Castle saw she held Angela's stuffed bunny that he'd searched for. The woman stood and looked as though she was going run but she saw Ryan and Esposito closing behind her.

As they approached, Sorenson began, "Nina Mendoza, you're under arrest for the kidnapping of Angela Candela."

Esposito said, "Taking your own niece. Put your hands behind your back."

Ryan continued to read the woman her rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used..."

Rick paused, his focus going to Beckett who continued to Angela who was confined in a fenced off area. She bent down to the little girl in a pink coat. "Hello, Angela."

Beckett crouched to the baby's height, "I am so happy to see you. You wanna go and see Mommy?" She picked up the child and stood up to full height, the baby in arms, "Come on, baby. Look at you." She smiled, and began to walk towards the garden bench where the soft toy had been discarded, "Hello. Hi, beautiful. Want to grab your pink rabbit?" Beckett picked up the stuffed rabbit off the bench where Nina had sat. "Look at the rabbit." She gave the baby her toy when she reached out for it, then started back to the car.

Sorenson glanced over at Castle, and nodded at him. Then both men turned and followed Beckett as she comforted and carried Angela. Castle saw his partner's instincts of nurture with the toddler, which caused him to wonder whether the woman in her late twenties wanted to have babies of her own. She had avoided his question yesterday morning. He'd made it clear to her that he was willing to have more children - with her. But was he? She wasn't pregnant and seemed fine about that. Watching her with the toddler, he didn't need to even dwell on it to make a decision. The answer immediately came to him the second Kate Beckett looked back over her shoulder directly at him, with the baby in her safe embrace. Her eyes were bright, her smile beautiful. They'd saved the baby but it was more than that he saw when she looked right at him.

A feather could have knocked him over.

Later in the morning, after the arrests had been made, Beckett was seated at her desk, finalising the NYPD paperwork to hand into their Captain and the FBI. She was just winding up the email when Sorenson walked up and took the seat next to her desk, being Castle's chair. Kate hit send, then paused her work. She immediately noticed he had something on his mind other than work.

Sorenson tapped the top of the desk, a sure sign he was going to make small talk before he got down to business. "So, how do you think she'll do?"

"Well," she began, "I guess it depends on how many mothers are on the jury." She took in the sight of Will on Castle's wrecked up old chair, determining there and then she preferred to see Castle sitting there. She had dated Will for just over six months and they had been talking about moving in together when he'd then hit her with the news he wanted to accept a job offer in another town. She'd also like him and thought she saw a future with him. His career decision has caused things to be rough for a few months for them, but time had caused them to forget. She hadn't forgotten the heartache she'd experienced but what she had felt for Will she didn't remember now. Kate now appreciated that the job offer had come up before she had given up her apartment to move in with Wil.

"So, now that it's over... now that I'm back, I was... thinking, maybe we could give it another shot."

"And when you leave again?"

"You come with me."

She looked at him for a moment, then looked away, then down and nodded. "Think about it." He stood up.

Beckett stared at him, took a deeper breath then said, "You know why I can't, Will." He glanced beyond her peripheral vision and she chose not to follow and kept her eyes on his face.

"I do." He nodded and turned. She watched him walk away.

Not seconds later, Castle took his place on the chair and leaned over the desk absorbing her expression with great interest. She smiled understanding Rick's expression, and why Sorenson had gone. He'd seen Castle enter the bull pen. Castle got her attention.

"Nice guy," he commented waving his hand in Sorenson's direction. "I can see how it wouldn't work, though," he stated.

"Really?" She sat back waiting for his response.

"Sure."

"How?" She really wanted to know what her current boyfriend thought of her ex. The men were completely different.

"Handsome, square-jawed, by-the-book."

She raised an eyebrow, "And that's a bad thing?"

"Yeah, he's like the male you. Ying needs Yang, not another Ying. Ying-Yang is harmony, but Ying-Ying is... a name for a panda," he said with a smirk, amused by his own humour.

"Any more wisdom, Obi-Wan?" She inquired trying not to laugh.

"Nope. That's it for today. What say we celebrate by going out for a drink?"

"I can't." She said, "I've got a date tonight." She stood up and grabbed her stuff.

"A date? You date? Who?" He glanced down the way, to see they had the attention of the boys.

"That's why it's called private life. Because it's private. Unlike you, I don't live my life on Page Six." She said as she walked from her desk.

"Well, you're a mysterious woman, Detective Beckett." He remarked as he chased her down.

"Maybe there's a little more Nikki Heat in me than you think." She shot him a mysterious smile as she headed out of the precinct.

In the elevator, standing side to side, Kate turned to Rick. "What are you doing for the rest of the day, Castle?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, Beckett. Alexis is at school. My mother is out, hopefully. I could write."

"Mm." A dissatisfied expression appeared as she stepped in closer, capturing his gaze, "I haven't eaten in about twelve hours and haven't slept for like a day." She raised an eyebrow, waited for his response.

Rick gazed from her head to her waist then looked forward to the elevator lights, "Sorted then," he said. "Let's go back to my place. I'll make lunch while you take a shower freshen up, we'll eat, then go to bed for a nap."

She smiled. "Yes. I have a change of clothes at your place."

"You do, yes."

"A nap would be perfect." She said. "Can we stay at my place tonight? My dress for our date is at home."

"Oh yes your date." He smiled. "You will love the restaurant I've booked."

"I know I will. I also have tomorrow off." She hinted.

"Sounds like you wanna spend time with your boyfriend, Ms Beckett."

She laughed. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Kate stepped out ahead of him. "Subway or cab?"

"Cab. Walk a couple of blocks, Beckett."

They pushed the doors open, exited the building and went down the steps. They turned left and walked, blending in with other pedestrians on the city streets.

"Did you like my exit conversation?" She asked as they walked shoulder to shoulder.

"Perfect. You're going on a date. Esposito is sensing there is something between us, Kate, but he said you'd never date me. I'm not your type.'

She laughed. "How do you know?"

"He cornered me in the breakroom. Big brother syndrome, very protective of you."

"Oh."

"Oh? If we break up, I think he might hurt me." He said and smiled.

"That's Espo." She laughed. "We won't break up." She affirmed. They continued in silence walking the distance of a few blocks. When Rick was confident it was safe they wouldn't bump into Kate's co-workers, he took a hold of her right hand and urged her to a cab stop.


	46. Chapter 46

**Apologies for the delay. Been busy with work and play. I am writing this part to catch up with where I am later on in this episode.**

 **Chapter 46 - Season 1 ep 10**

There was an expected knock on the front door of Castle's apartment. He put down a half consumed mug of coffee on his way to the door he opened.

"Arrr, Dr Clark. Good to see you."

"Same my friend." The men shook hands.

"Come in. I will grab the file for you." Rick closed the door.

"Thank you." The doctor followed the writer, "A stabbing, Rick? Isn't that a little pedestrian for you?"

"Maybe."

"Usually when you call me, it's to ask what happens if you put a head in a microwave." Dr Clark Murray inquired. He entered office ahead of Rick, and looked about the writer's place of business.

"Well, this one's a little less made-up." Rick closed the office door and led the doctor to the desk where a file was placed beside his laptop.

"How so?"

"The victim is the mother of the detective I've been following around."

"Ah."

"The case has been cold ten years. I just figured, since you're the best forensic pathologist in the city, maybe you could catch something they missed." He reached for the file, took it from his desk, then handed over to the doctor who cast his eyes over the cover then flipped through the pages inside the cover, "You know reality isn't fiction, right? The odds of finding anyone's killer after ten years." The doctor explained giving Rick a doubtful gaze.

"Astronomical, I know. But I'd appreciate it if you took a look."

"Well, I'll do what I can, Rick. Just don't go making any promises I can't keep."

"Of course not. Thanks again."

The doctor gave a nod, "I must keep going. I will get back to you as soon as I can."

"I appreciate it." Rick placed a palm on the doctor's shoulder as they returned to the front door.

Murray walked out of the apartment farewelling Rick with a wave. As he closed the door and turned, Rick sighted his mother who stood at the base of the stairs. He also recognised the look and body language she exhibited.

"What was Doctor Death doing here?"

"Just a little consulting," Rick replied as he crossed the living room in search of his coffee.

"It sounded to me like you were looking into Detective Beckett's mother's murder."

"Must you always eavesdrop?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping. I happened to walk by your office door. I live here, too, you know."

"Yes. I'm aware." He cringed a little hearing the touch of sarcasm in his tone of voice.

Martha followed him to the kitchen, "So, does she know you're poking into her mother's case?"

"What's the sense in telling her until I find something new?" Rick retorted as he leaned against the kitchen counter to finish his morning brew.

"Well, you ever stop to think you're invading her privacy?"

"I'm not poking through her underwear drawer, Mom. I'm investigating her mother's murder."

"You are digging up her past, darling, without her permission. Now you either tell her or leave it alone."

He nodded, "I'll think about it."

"And by the way, Darling, if you want to keep that woman close to you, I would not recommend you dig about in her late mother's murder."

Rick sighed and scratched his head. "She's living with unresolved issues. You don't think she would like to put that behind her? To find the person who murdered her mother and have that individual charged? Its why she became a homicide cop."

"I reiterate, Richard." She pressed, "You are treading in deep water poking about in her private life. You know she's intensely protective of her business."

"Mother, I think I know her quite well now," he replied, reasonably confident of his statement. In a couple of months, he'd experienced the most intensive relationship of his life. It sometimes frightened him how much he loved Kate and it was instinctive he knew how terrified she was of her own feelings for him, for them. It made her recluse at times.

"You be very careful, Richard."

He watched his mother walk away to return to her bedroom. He was aware he was about to risk his relationship with Beckett, but if things paid off, they would find the person who murdered Beckett's mother.

They both turned towards the front door as Alexis burst through it, home from school. She was excited.

Not much later that afternoon, Rick found himself in the car with Beckett, who had picked him up a few blocks from his home. He'd been conversing with Alexis about her first date, when Beckett had called to let him know a body had been reported. The walk to meet her had cleared his head. He'd gone behind Kate's back about her mother's murder. His mother had made it clear he'd made a bad decision. He'd consented to his daughter going on a date with a boyfriend he hadn't met and his mother wasn't happy about that either.

Kate was quiet while she drove, only sipping on the coffee he'd bought her on his way. Her silence, provided him with time to finish up processing the events that had taken place at home.

"Alexis has been invited to the junior-senior prom." Castle informed Beckett several minutes into the drive to the crime scene.

Beckett knotted her eyebrow, "She's not a junior or a senior, Castle."

"I know that, and its exactly what I said to her."

"Who invited her?" She slowed the vehicle to a stop at a set of lights.

"Some kid named Owen."

"Owen." She echoed, "Have you met him?"

"No."

"Castle, he's asking your daughter out, you know. You need to meet him."

Castle frowned with partial frustration, "Have you been talking with my mother?"

Kate looked at him confused, "No. Why?" Her eyes were back on the road ahead. The lights remained red and she watched a woman wearing extremely high heeled shores cautiously cross the road. She could barely walk.

"She's messing with my parenting skills." He responded.

Kate laughed. "Do you actually have those skills? I mean, I thought Alexis was born a small adult."

"Yes, and yes. I have faith that I'm a good father."

"And you are. My Dad would have said no." She stated.

"Really?"

Kate nodded. "So, I would go and ask my Mom."

"So, your Mom was the go to parent." He confirmed.

Kate pressed her foot on the gas, "Total push over. Speaking of push over, did you see that woman in the heels?"

"Yeah, she hasn't mastered her heels like you have."

Kate laughed. "Years of ballet, Rick."

"Anyways, I thought it would have been your Dad, you know, being the daughter, Daddy's girl sort of thing."

"No. I was more a Mommy's girl. I liked to be with my Mom," she said, then fell quiet as she drove the car to the crime scene.

Rick decided to fill the empty space with the sound of his voice, "So Mother, is like," and he went an octave higher, "You are letting her go out with someone that you've never met? What kind of a father are you? What kind of boyfriend are you?"

Kate laughed, "You sound like Marge Simpson's mother." She drove the vehicle into an available car park.

"And therefore, like my mother," he replied, opening the car door.

"Hang on, she criticised your boyfriend skills too?"

"Yeah, she did." As they walked to the crime scene Rick chose to continue talking about Alexis' new boyfriend named Owen. He ignored Beckett's question, "Maybe you could run a background check on him for me, Beckett, make sure my child's life won't be in danger."

"I'm not running a background check on your daughter's date. What is he, fifteen tops?"

"Oh, come on. She says he's quiet, he keeps to himself, and he lives with his parents. Tell me that doesn't sound like a serial killer to you."

"Who's a serial killer?" Esposito asked as the two caught up with the detectives.

"Castle's daughter, Alexis, got invited to prom." Kate explained.

"It's her first real date," Castle added.

Ryan chuckled, "And you're worried he's a serial killer? You should be more worried he's a teenage boy."

"Ah, he's only fifteen." Rick replied.

"Between satellite TV and the internet, fifteen's the new twenty-five." Ryan replied.

"Dude's right. I was fifteen once." Esposito added.

"Still are," Ryan commented with a cheeky Irish smile that spread to Kate.

"If I had a daughter her age, I'd never let her out of the house."

Castle frowned at Esposito, "Thanks, guys."

All of them surrounded a sedan that had been clamped and consequently towed.

"Mmm hmm." Ryan hummed, "Car was towed in here a few hours ago because of parking violations. When the attendant went to look for the vin number, he found the vic slumped over with a bag on his head," Ryan explained.

Castle pointed at the front window, "Six parking tickets and a tow sticker, and no one bothers to look inside?"

"Tinted windows, sunshade on the windshield." Esposito said.

Castle added, "You'd think someone would try to at least look inside."

Beckett butted in. "Yeah, welcome to New York. You got an ID?"

"Yeah, Dr Joshua Leeds, 37" Esposito replied, "According to the business cards in his wallet, he's a plastic surgeon. The car is registered to him as well."

"Any money in the wallet, Espo?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, couple of hundred bucks."

"Well, I guess we can rule out robbery," Beckett remarked, pulling a look of confusion and then curiosity and she peered inside the front of the car.

"A plastic bag and duct tape, Beckett? Not a very efficient way to kill someone."

"No, but it's very personal, Castle. All right, find and notify next of kin. Let's see how long he's been missing."

"From the state of decay, I'd say about a week," Lanie replied.

Ryan commented, "That matches the date on the first parking ticket.'

"Preliminary cause of death indicates asphyxiation, but I'll run toxicology just in case." Lanie said.

Esposito said, "That bag's pretty thin. Why wouldn't he just rip it off?"

"He must've been restrained," Beckett replied.

"That's only half the story." Lanie said, "His fingernails were removed. And each finger presents signs of having been broken pre-mortem." She held up the victims swollen hand and fingers. Overall it was ghastly. Swollen bruised fingers, bent out of shape from being broken or dislocated.

"Broken?"

"If I had to guess, Kate, I'd say our doctor was tortured before he was killed." Lanie suggested.

"Okay. Well, we'll get started, "Esposito can you get the vehicle to CSU once Lanie has the body out of it. We'll go find his next of kin, find out what his last actions were."

"As you wish." Esposito replied as he glanced at the ME's ass that was poking of the car.

Kate followed Rick who headed back to the car and happened to catch Espositos momentary admiration. Out of ear shot she muttered, "Wow."

"Did you see that?" Rick asked.

"If you're talking about Esposito perving on-"

"That's it. You think something is going on between them?"

Kate glanced back over her shoulder, "There could be." She looked to Rick's face wearing a cheeky smile.

"What?" He asked.

"Maybe we should go on a double date." She suggested which only caused Rick to laugh.

Castle said, "Courtney Morantz said that she and Josh Leeds were engaged for almost a year."

Beckett said, "Courtney stated Josh wasn't involved in anything that might've brought him into contact with criminal elements."

Esposito said, "And the Fiancée's story checks out. Cake shop confirms she was there waiting."

Ryan asked, "Heading to meet his fiancée at a cake shop in Great Neck, how'd he wind up dead on a street in Harlem?"

Castle said, "Well, maybe he had secrets even his fiancée didn't know about. Like maybe he secretly made a living out of using his surgeon skills to harvest organs off of tourists for the black market organ trade." His eyes widened, "Whoa, that was a good one. I'm writing that down." He rushed off to find a pen and sheet of paper.

With a roll of her eyes, Beckett said, "So instead of making up stories, we are going to establish a timeline. When did he get his first parking ticket?"

"Last Wednesday morning." Esposito replied pointing at the copy of the ticket. Kate wrote on the board.

"Okay, so you guys go to the midtown garage where he kept his car, and we'll hit his office." Beckett said.

"Okay."

They collected their belongings, Kate grabbed a jacket and car keys. They walked off side by side.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Castle said as they began their trip to the elevator foyer.

"Since when do you ask permission to ask questions?"

"It's about your mother's case."

Beckett stopped walking and faced Castle.

"Have you ever thought about... reopening it?"

She pressed her lips, stopped walking and put a hand to his arm, stopping him as she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just thought if we worked together…"

"No."

"I have resources," he offered.

"Castle," she took an impatient breath, "You touch my mom's case, and you and I are done. Do you understand?"

"Okay." He nodded, swallowed nervously, then commenced to walk again. He had only walked a half dozen strides. "Why don't you want to investigate it?" He had to ask. He needed to know why.

Once again, Beckett stopped walking and faced him. "Same reason a recovering alcoholic doesn't drink. You don't think I haven't been down there? You don't think I haven't memorized every line in that file? My first three years on the force, every off-duty moment was spent looking for something someone missed. It took me a year of therapy to realize if I didn't let it go, it was gonna destroy me. And so, I let it go," she said then turned and walked into the elevator.

Castle quickly followed. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, well, now you do."

The elevator doors closed. Rick stood still, contemplating whether to tell Beckett he'd asked someone to review the existing evidence. His gut told him to keep quiet for now, until he had something solid. They were talking about taking a small trip out of town when she next had a few days off so he didn't want to risk it.

After they returned from Dr Leeds surgery, Castle and Beckett opted to update the white board while they waited for the other half of their team to return to the Precinct.

"Last Tuesday. He was on his way to meet his fiancée," Castle said, as he filed in the time on the white board with neat hand writing. He capped the pen and turned about to face Kate as he asked, "What time did he leave the office, Babe?"

"Castle." Kate hissed, glancing around the office.

"Oh." Castle's hand shot to his mouth, then he brushed it off when he saw no one was within hearing distance. Kate relaxed back in her office chair. "Time?" He repeated.

"Oh!" Kate sat up and read her notes, "Mario said it was around five thirty."

"Five thirty." He pulled of the cap of the marker and once again wrote above the time line at the correct spot, "And Maggie said he was alive at six when she called him. He was in traffic at the tunnel."

Continuing from her notes, she read, "The patient who threatened Dr Leeds was Jacey Goldberg."

"You got the photograph of the lovely Jacey Goldberg?" Rick asked.

Kate laughed as she found the 8 x 10 inch picture then reached out to Rick to hand it to him. "Stunning woman, who was a patient of Dr Leeds until about three months ago."

"Person of interest." Rick commented as he pinned it to the whiteboard with a magnetic button.

"Write beneath her name that Dr Leeds refused to perform a further operation."

Castle said, "Good idea."

Like earlier her eyes got all big at the image of the woman, which Castle thought was cute. In fact, he thought she was dressed cutely that day in her pants and leather jacket and her hair was growing.

Rick put down the marker and stood back to view his work. "I thought I would end up an English teacher had I not written my first novel and been successful," he said waggling a finger at the board.

"You write neat enough to be a school teacher," Kate replied, always amused by his passion of penmanship.

"How's things coming along?" Montgomery asked as he approached also inspecting the white board.

"We're making progress." Rick replied.

"What the-?" He pointed at the photo of Jacey Goldberg and looked at Kate who smiled.

"Freaky huh?"

"Should be arrested." Rick commented.

"At the very least, she should be arrested for violating the laws of nature."

Esposito approached the group as he called out, "Check this out. Jacey Goldberg's husband Jack had her committed to Bellevue a month ago for psychiatric treatment for her little obsession."

"Guess who testified in support of her commitment?" Ryan asked.

Beckett said, "Dr Joshua Leeds.

Ryan said, "Mm-Hmm. Mandatory one-month treatment program. She was released last week."

Esposito said, "Three days before our doctor went missing."

Castle said, "Mentally unstable plastic surgery chick. That is way better than harvesting organs."

"Get her in here." Montgomery ordered.


	47. Chapter 47

_This is a longer chapter and its laying down the foundations of what happens in the future. Reminder, rule to myself is I have to work this secret life within the original story. Apologies if any errors but been really busy and wanted to finish this bit so I can join it with what I have already written ahead._

 **Chapter 47**

Kate threw a few pillows to the armchair then gave her pillow a decent thumping to fluff it up, while repeatedly glancing to Rick who undressed rather spectacularly before he fell into bed wearing only boxer shorts. She took a moment to admire his impressive chest, to recollect how he'd unbuttoned his shirt, pushed down his jeans, gradually revealing his body.

He looked at her, released a satisfied grunt. "The lady likes what she's sees," he commented.

Kate immediately felt her cheeks burn, but she held her stare and replied, "Maybe."

He scoffed. "Maybe, my ass."

Kate maintained her composure and stare,

"C'mere." He summoned, his eyes flicking between her face and legs. "My long legged girl."

"Mm," she responded and threw her robe where the pillow had landed earlier.

"Honey, that woman, was she crazy?"

"Goldberg?" She knelt on the mattress watching him settle into his own pillow. "Crazy about plastic surgery," she commented then added, "That was funny when you said she it was like she escaped from the Island of Dr Moreau."

"Yeah, I know, but... you quoting the elephant man-"

Beckett smiled, which caused him to do the same.

"That topped it," he laughed.

"So, she wanted to sue Dr Leeds, for refusing to perform elective cosmetic surgery, specifically a face-lift, facial implants and liposuction."

Castle hummed, "And crazy lady, said that arrogant bastard thought he could play God."

"When I told Montgomery that she was in the hospital getting more surgery when Leeds was murdered, he had to ask me what was left to operate on."

Rick laughed as he reached for Kate's hand. "Did you tell him?"

"Implied. He understood."

Once she accepted his held out hand, he gently tugged at her beckoning her to him. She got up on her knees to close the gap.

"Hopefully CSU will find something." She said as she swung her right leg over his body. She sat on him, widening her eyes with a smile. "Excited to see me, Ricky?"

He smiled, "Always."

She laughed momentarily looking at their hands joined then was back at his eyes.

"How did you go finding Alexis a dress?"

Rick rolled his eyes, "You girls, women, don't realise how gorgeous you are. She tried dress after dress on until my mother found one for her. I got the lecture from Martha about body-image issues."

"Oh. All women have them, Castle."

"You don't –." His brow furrowed, when he saw her expression, "Oh, yes you do. You do, right?"

She sat right down upon him, "Of course I do, I just don't have hang ups about them."

"Should I ask?"

She laughed, "My hair, it can be unmanageable sometimes. So, I tie it up or cut it short."

"Okay." He cautiously replied. "Anything else?"

"You know what Castle, I know what my flaws are, my little hang ups."

"I don't see them," he replied quite seriously. "You're perfect the way you are."

For a couple of seconds, Kate waited for Rick to be a smart ass, but he remained sincere, "Thank you," she whispered then softly pressed her lips to his. She paused, pulled back a little to look into his eyes, "Castle, I-" She tailed off, bit her bottom lip, but stilled.

Her words ceased all Rick's thoughts and he stared into her eyes, waiting for her to finish, but she was stuck, stalled by her own timidness. There was an urge to encourage her to finish. Her heart rate had increased equal to his. He touched her shoulder, breathed in then to get them past the moment, he calmly said. "It used to be that all Alexis needed to feel beautiful was a pink tutu and a plastic tiara. What makes Kate feel beautiful?"

"What makes me feel beautiful is a bath, a pretty dress, hot jeans, a good hair day, and-" she touched his cheek, "The things you buy me because you know I will look pretty, especially the way you look at me, makes me feel beautiful."

"You are beautiful, from here," he touched her chest, then reached to her forehead, "and here."

"Umm, lacy lingerie, especially you," she continued with a smile.

"Especially me," he echoed aware that was the extent of what he'd get from her now. She was feeling what he felt but she wasn't ready, like he was to verbally express it.

"What colour dress did Alexis get?" She asked stroking his hair.

"Teal," he answered distracted by something else Kate had said.

"That would fit her complexion."

"Lingerie?" He inquired which caused Kate to smile.

"I knew that would get your attention."

Rick pulled her down, closer to him and she ended up laying upon his chest. "You have my full attention.' He swept hair from her face.

She sighed, stroked his chest, "Rick?"

"Mm?"

"Promise me something." she quietly requested.

"Promise you what?"

"Please don't investigate my Mom's murder."

"Kate," he murmured.

"I'm just saying."

"I know."

"I know how you get." She pressed her lips to his chest, then rested her chin on him, looking into his eyes. "Don't," she whispered, "Please don't. If you've started, please stop."

"What is it that scares you more? Not knowing or knowing?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Being obsessed."

"I'll do it with you, Kate. Make sure-"

Kate sat up, lifted herself up and swung off his body. She flopped to the mattress on her side of the bed, folding up her legs against her body. Rick sat up and turned toward her.

"Hey, don't be scared." He said, when he saw her hug her legs to her chest.

"I'm not scared."

Rick sighed, "Don't close me out because of this."

"I let you in, Rick. I shared my Mother's murder with you."

"But you're guarded now."

She swallowed, then murmured, "Don't." She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. "I share with you," she said, her eyes closed, "I share with you more than I do anyone."

Rick watched her behaviour, the mounting stress she exhibited. "I know you do," he replied and reached out to her knee, "You're safe, Kate."

She nodded, lowered her gaze then reached for the bedding she pulled up. She lengthened her body down the bed, resting her head to the pillow. "I'm tired, Castle."

Rick laid down to his back, his hands supporting his head on the pillow. He silently stared at the ceiling, thoughts crowding his mind about the file he'd given the medical examiner. There was a part of him that wished he hadn't done it, a part that hoped the ME wouldn't find any new evidence. If nothing was found he wouldn't need to raise it with Kate. He could forget about it and move on if the ME found nothing.

He reached out to place his hand on Kate's hip and gave her several caresses. He murmured, "Honey?"

"Mm?"

"Stay open with me." He said and waited for a response but nothing came. She was pissed at him for not promising to stay away from her mother's case. In that instance he decided he would phone the ME the next day and tell him not to review the file.

"On March 18, Dr Leeds was down at Mercy." Esposito said to his audience of four, "And according to the hospital, the procedure lasted nine hours. Neither the assisting nor the anaesthesiologist were with the hospital. Both were brought in by Dr Leeds. Neither were his regulars."

"A nine hour mystery operation he didn't want his own people to know about." Montgomery remarked leaning against a desk beside Castle.

Beckett said, "The hospital must've had some record of the patient."

Ryan said, "Get this. The hospital can't find the file. It's like it never happened."

Castle said, "Who did you talk to, Ryan?"

"Patient information."

"Well... that was your first mistake," Castle commented, "If you want to find someone at a hospital who had a treatment there, there's only one department to go to where nothing ever falls through the cracks." He paused, glancing at each member of the team, "Billing." He squawked watching their eyes widen, then asked, "Someone had to pay for it, right?"

Beckett immediately said, "Ryan."

"On it, Beckett."

"I'll go get coffee." Rick said to Kate, "And yes I will buy you something to eat."

Kate listened to the person on the other end of the landline, casting her eyes towards the elevator doors when she heard the ping. "Thank you. No, I appreciate it." She unconsciously nodded and jotted a note beneath a number. She directed her attention to Castle, who walked in with coffees and a brown paper bag. He passed her the coffee and placed the bag on the desk with his coffee. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled, tapped the note paper, "What did you find out?"

"Well, it looks like our mystery patient's hospital bills were paid promptly and in full."

Castle leaned in, "By whom?

"Wire transfer." Her eyes left Rick as she tore the piece of paper from the pad. "Esposito?

Esposito stopped as he was passing her desk and turned to his superior, "Yeah?

Beckett reached to him with the sheet of paper and said, "See what you can find on this account number."

Esposito read the number then smiled at Beckett, "All right." He continued on.

Beckett asked, "Is Alexis ready for tonight?"

Castle said, "Yeah, yeah. I can't believe my little girl's going to prom. My only comfort now is the long-Standing tradition of torturing the boyfriend." He took a sip of his coffee, a smug smile creeping over his face.

"What do you mean?

Surprised by her question Castle sat up, "You know, the time-honoured hazing that goes on in those few moments we share where he and I are alone just before my daughter descends the stairs."

Ryan who was listening in said, "I remember the terror of meeting my date's old man."

Castle turned about to face Ryan who was seated in his office chair, "What did he do?"

"Checked my wallet for condoms, showed me his gun collection. My hands were shaking so bad, I could barely put on the corsage."

Castle turned back to Beckett, "What'd your dad do?"

Beckett's brow furrowed in thought, "I... I don't know. I was in my room with my Mom."

Interested in learning more Castle asked, "How was your date when you finally came out?"

Beckett sat back in her chair, recollecting the evening she had gone to her first prom with a senior, "You know, actually, now that you mention it, he looked terrified. And this whole time, I thought he was scared of me."

Castle, "Nope. And now it's my turn." He laughed devilishly.

"What are you planning?" Ryan asked.

"Something befitting the name of Castle." He replied as Esposito returned to the group holding the sheet of paper Beckett had given him a few minutes ago.

"Yo, you're never gonna believe this." He waved the paper.

Beckett lost interest in the conversation, "What'd you find?"

"That account the money was wired from, Beckett? It belongs to the U.S. Attorney's office. Whatever the procedure was, Uncle Sam paid for it."

Castle replied, "I guess we can rule out boob job."

Kate frowned at him.

Ryan asked, "Why would the D.O.J. pay for a cosmetic procedure?"

"There's only one reason," Beckett replied, "To change someone's identity."

"So you think the guy was in witness protection?" Espo asked Beckett.

"If Dr Leeds was tortured," Castle commented, "Then I think our killer is trying to find this guy, Beckett."

"Then we better find him first."

"How do you find someone who's in witness protection?

Beckett said, "We ask the people who are protecting him, Castle."

"Ask Hard Candy? Good luck with that, Beckett," Ryan stated.

"Hard-Hard candy?"

"Assistant US Attorney Candace Robinson, Castle," Espo replied, "She makes mobsters cry."

"But not me," Beckett stated, "Road trip, Castle."

"We are going to see Hard Candy Robinson?"

"We are."

"That worked out well." Rick stated, stopping outside the Department of Justice on the pavement in order to debrief on the past ten minutes, fruitless ten minutes, with his partner.

"Not how I wanted it to be," Beckett replied, as she faced him, "The Assistant US Attorney Robinson, won't risk the exposure of a witness during an ongoing federal investigation, no matter what. Its why she got where she has."

"She wasn't gonna give you a name." Castle glanced about them at the pedestrians, traffic, everyone going about their business, "So what now, Kate?"

"This witness of theirs is key, Castle. Without knowing who he is or who's after him, there's no way of getting to the next step."

Castle looked directly at Beckett, "There's another way we could figure out who that witness is."

"Yeah? How?" Beckett glared at him as though he'd just told her the sky was going to fall on them, then frustrated, she continued on towards her car the long determined strides. Rick hurried after her to fall in beside her,

"Hey, there's another way." He said trying to slow her down.

"Tell me."

"Candace Robinson's office deals almost exclusively with organized crime," he stated.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, what if we ask the other side?"

Kate stopped again and faced him, "You want to ask the mob who the witness is?"

He shrugged, "Clearly, they already know who he is, Kate, if they're trying to kill him. Like you said, he's got to be a significant witness in a pretty big case."

"Okay, so what do we do? Do we hop in the car, drive down to the bada bing?"

"Is that you being sarcastic?" He asked.

She couldn't help but smile, "Of course."

"Alright. Seriously, Honey, I know a guy. He owes me a favour."

Beckett shifted her weight from left foot to right, stepping in closer to Rick, "You know a guy? What is this, a Mamet play?"

"From the early days of Derrick Storm. He's a capo with one of the families. He's actually pretty nice.

"For a criminal."

Castle nodded, "I'm just saying, maybe he knows something. Maybe he can tell us something the feds won't." He encouraged her with a hand to her shoulder to continue walking to the car, "I keep forgetting you read plays."

"I'm well read, Castle." She confirmed as she hit the button on her keys to unlock to car.

"I know. I've…" he stopped, looked around them then quite said, "I've seen your bookshelves."

"Ditto."

He smiled, "I'll go see the guy I know. Call you when I'm done."

"Remember, you're a writer, not a cop." She called after him as he headed off in the same direction they had been working. He gave a wave but didn't look back.

An hour or so later, at the Precinct, Kate rushed to her desk when she heard the Police cell phone ring out. Before she accepted she checked the identity, saw it was Rick and picked up, "Hey. You got something?"

"Yeah, Baby, I got something good."

She smiled, enjoying the sensation his voice produced within her, "Seriously? What is it?"

"First of all, what are you wearing?"

"Castle."

He laughed. Kate smirked aware he was teasing her.

"I have a name, Kate."

She grabbed a pen. "Go."

"Jimmy, the Rat, Moran."

She wrote, she stared at what she wrote, "Jimmy, the Rat?"

"That's it. Did you write it down?"

"Mm. No wonder he's in protection with a name like that."

"It's actually his appearance, but yeah." Rick replied, "The guy I know said Moran worked for the head of the Spolano family. Jimmy was an underboss. He was a favourite of the old man's, but he got squeezed out by junior when the old man bit it."

"Okay."

"The guy said that rumour has it that Jimmy turned to State a few months ago, and the Spolanos are running scared. Apparently, Moran's got it all, Bills of lading, calendars, ledgers, the whole shooting match. Enough to take down all the top guys."

"Good job, Castle."

"Do I get a prize tonight?"

She scoffed, "In your dreams, buddy."

Rick chuckled, "The boys are close by huh?"

"Sure are."

"Make you dinner." She quietly offered.

Rick laughed, "You'll be make me more than dinner tonight."

"Ya think?" She scoffed.

"I know. You'll be begging me for it by supper time tonight." He teased, "I'll be back soon."

"Seeya." Kate disconnected the call then momentarily glared at the screen, thinking about how she did usually beg for it. She put the phone into a pocket on her way to Espo's desk, "Hey Espo," she called, "Castle got a name."

"Wa'zat Castle?" He asked in surprise, his eyes widening.

"He says he knows a guy."

"He knows heaps of guys, Beckett."

"Yeah, he's coming back." She passed him the post it note and gathered around the monitor with Ryan. "Let's find what this guy is about."

Moments later they had an image of Jimmy on the computer and were studying it with intensity and curiosity. Esposito read, "Jimmy the rat Moran, aka Jimmy Pretty. He's been linked to gambling, loan sharking and extortion schemes."

"You know, you want a guy to be loyal, you probably shouldn't nickname him 'The Rat'." Ryan pointed out with a smile.

"True," Beckett said, "Okay, let's start off by digging up all known associates of the Spolano family."

"Yeah, sure, and while we're at it, we'll just bang our heads against a brick wall, you know, just for fun," Kevin replied.

Esposito bobbed his head a couple of times, then looked at Kate, who hadn't done much time chasing crime with mobs during her police career, "Professional hits are the hardest to close. Because of the anonymous nature of the murders, the usual rules like motive and relationship to victim don't apply."

"So, we need to talk to Moran. Gotta see what he knows," Beckett insisted.

"Yeah," Esposito agreed with a nod then pointed as Rick approached them. "Your boy is back."

Kate looked up, liking what Espo had said and on this occasion, she chose not to bite back.

Rick didn't make any special attention towards Beckett, but focussed on the computer they were all handing about, "Hey, did you find him?" He leaned over Ryan's shoulder to check the monitor, smiled, "Oh yeah. Good stuff!"

"Can't talk to Moran," Espo objected.

"What makes you think your friend Hard Candy is going to cooperate with you now, Kate?" Rick inquired.

Beckett gave him a sneaky smile, "You have your sources. I have mine."

Castle inhaled slightly deeper, "Oh, it's not your ex-boyfriend, is it?" He asked and immediately saw her physical response, "Mr FBI. Tall, brooding and judgmental?" He couldn't help but say.

"Why, yes, in fact, it is. Is that a problem?"

He raised his eyebrow ever so slightly, thinking about the kiss he'd caught her doing, but decided not to act up in the presence of her co-workers. It wouldn't be a good move. "No. Not for me." He paused, and before he could shut his own mouth, he commented, "But then again, I'm not the one he's trying to get back together with." He looked straight at the brunette who shot him a fierce glance. He accepted it, satisfied she had received the message loud and clear.

Out front the Federal Government building where Will worked, Kate Beckett waited alone leaning on the hood of her car, holding onto a paper bag. She'd insisted with Rick that she was going alone to meet her ex-boyfriend because she knew he would ruin any chance she had of getting what they needed to help solve the case.

The two men were pissing on each other's turf a little too much. It amused her because Will had a chance in hell of getting back with her but Castle was still threatened.

It was a calculated guess that she was waiting in the right spot. Will Sorenson was a man of habit, and it would be his stomach that would have him on the search for lunch in a matter of minutes. When they had dated, she'd regularly met him for lunch in the exact place she was now, leaning against the fender of her car. Then she saw him strolling down the steps in his suit.

He smiled when he saw her, and Kate was reinforced in that moment she really was past him, "Well, this is a nice surprise," Will greeted.

Beckett smiled, "Yeah? Hopefully, this is a nice surprise as well." She held out the brown paper bag that he accepted.

He unrolled the top then peered inside. His smile altered when he saw what was in the bag, "Sprinkles. Am I really that predictable?"

She shrugged, "Well, maybe I just know you too well. I mean, we did date once."

"Yeah," he held out half the doughnut but she held up her hand.

"Oh, no, thanks. I don't eat sprinkles anymore."

"Right." He muttered just as he took another bite, "So, Kate, is this the part where you ask me to bend the rules to help you on your case?"

Beckett smiled, "Am I really that predictable?

"Maybe I just know you too well. What do you need?"

"I wanna talk to Jimmy Moran," she explained.

"Jimmy Moran the mobster?"

Beckett gave a nod, aware he was surprised by her request. "Yeah."

"What makes you think I can help with that?"

"The FBI and the US Attorney's office have him in witness protection."

"And you know this how?" He inquired taking another bite of the donut.

"Word on the street."

"Look, even if it's true, I don't work organized crime cases."

"Oh, come on, Will, you and I both know how this works. You reach out to the agent in charge, he talks to the AUSA running the case, and then I get to talk to Jimmy Moran." She wrapped up policies and processes in a nutshell.

Will thought about it while he enjoyed his donut, "And I do this for you why?"

"All right, let me put this another way. The Spolanos know that Jimmy is cooperating with the government. We know that they want him dead because they murdered the surgeon the you feds hired to change his face. You guys put that doctor in harm's way, so you're doing it for him, not for me."

Will thought about her reasoning, looked at her and gave a nod, "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Will. "

"I'll call you if I can pull it off and you will need to be ready."

"Deal."

"You better get back to that writer boy of yours before he gets jealous." He joked and followed it up with a smartass smirk.

Kate's shoulders dropped and she gave him the death stare. "He doesn't know you know about us, Will," she stated.

"You told him we were together?"

She nodded. "I had to. Not necessarily good he knows. Worse if I kept it from him." She checked her phone for the time, "I gotta get back to the Precinct. I have a meet with Montgomery about this case."

"Okay. Well, I'll call you later if I can meet with Moran."

"Thanks, Will." She waited at the side of the car as Will walked away towards the café he usually grabbed a sandwich from. On her way to the driver's side she phoned Rick.

"Castle," he greeted.

"Hey. It's me."

"How did you go?"

Kate sat in the driver's seat, a smile creeping over her face. The sound of his voice caused taht internal buzz and an ache in her groin that drove her crazy at times.

"He's in. He'll call me if he can arrange the meet."

"Good girl," he quietly replied. "So now we wait."

"Yep."

"Come back. I have some lunch here for you."

"Thanks Rick. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"Not talking about food."

"Neither am I."

Kate laughed. "I'll see you soon, Babe."

"Hurry. I have to leave about three for Alexis' date tonight."

"Is she excited?"

"She busy getting ready. By the way, don't stop to look at those shoes you want."

"How do you know?"

"You will drive straight past the shoe store and if you see an available car park, you'll pull in."

"I won't." She hotly objected which only caused Rick to laugh more.

"I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Castle."

Kate indicated she was going to drive the car into a parking garage.

Castle's gaze anticipated the direction as he sat up, "Seriously, Beckett? A parking garage?"

Beckett glanced at him as she drove the car into the entrance. "What?" She opened the window to grab a ticket. She passed him the ticket.

"It's... pretty cliché." He commented, and placed the ticket on the middle console.

"Yeah, well, no one said that the feds were original." She pulled into the car spaced that Will had told her to be at and put the car in park. The engine fell silent, but not Rick. She looked up towards the entrance, aware she had arrived right on time and she knew Will would be on time.

"Yeah, next thing you'll tell me, they'll be pulling up in a black suburban with tinted windows." Castle rattled on,

Kate caught sight of a black suburban with tinted windows enter the parking garage which cause her to almost burst out with laughter. She touched Rick's shoulder disrupting his monolog.

He looked past her, "Oh, someone's been watching way too many Bruckheimer films." He glanced at Kate's eyes, as the vehicle came to a halt close by. Feds got out the car as Beckett summoned Rick to do the same. The group met up between the cars.

Assistant US Attorney Robinson approached Beckett, "Five minutes, detective. That's all you get.

Beckett sarcastically replied, "The NYPD thanks you for your cooperation." She approached Will Sorenson who pointed towards Castle.

"Want me to watch the monkey?"

Castle appeared offended.

"That's okay, Will. Monkey comes with me."

"Suit yourself."

As Castle Sorenson, he said, "Hey, I really like your car. It's very nondescript."

Beckett and Castle stepped into the rear of the suburban and turned around to face a man who was wearing a black mask.

Beckett said, "Mr. Moran, I'm detective Beckett. This is Richard Castle."

They saw the eyes moved between Beckett and Castle, "Richard Castle, like the novelist?" He asked.

Castle nodded, glanced at Kate then replied, "Exactly like."

"I thought you guys were cops."

"He's consulting on the case. I'm a cop."

"She's the cop," Rick echoed.

"Well, look, I already told the feds everything I know. You want info on the Spolanos, ask them."

Beckett said, "Actually, we're not here about the Spolanos. We're here about Dr Leeds, the man who operated on you."

"What about him?"

Castle said, "He was found murdered last week.

"Murdered?" Moran squawked, "The doc was murdered?"

Castle replied, "Asphyxiated. They duct taped a plastic bag over his head."

"We believe the Spolanos may have been involved," Beckett added.

"May have been"? "May have been"?!"

Beckett sensed the meet was spiralling out of control, "Given how Leeds was killed and given your knowledge of the organization, we were hoping that you would be able to help identify the-"

Moran started frantically knocking on the window. "Hey! Hey!"

Will opened the car door and stuck his head in the car,"What's wrong?"

"Get me out of here!"

Beckett said, "We can help, Mr. Moran. We can find the guys who did this, but you have to let me know if there was anyone in the Spolano family that kills this way."

"Yeah, yeah, there is. Me." He replied in a panicked state, "The duct tape, the bag- That was my M.O. Don't you get it? They're sending a message to me, and if they got to the doc." He directed his attention to Sorenson, "Take me back! Now!"

Castle and Beckett returned to the Precinct frustrated about how the meet had rolled out. A terrified mob member, pissed over Attorney. What else could have gone wrong. Beckett was pent up about it and had barely taken a breath she'd rambled so much during their trip home.

Ryan saw them entered and put down the work he was doing, "Hey, how'd it go?

Beckett stopped in her tracks and turned to Ryan, "Oh, do the words "unmitigated disaster" mean anything?"

"What happened?" Esposito asked.

Castle said, "We scared a key witness in a huge federal case so bad that now he won't testify."

Ryan said, "Oh, is that all?"

Captain Montgomery came from his office in hurry, "Beckett. Just got a call from D.O.J."

Beckett started to panic. Things could get worse as now she was in trouble with the Captain, "Sir, I can explain-"

"No, no. It's- It's Sorenson. On the way back to the FBI safe house with Moran, someone pulled up next to 'em and opened fire. He was in the back with the witness. They both were shot."

In the hospital the team gathered around at Captain Montgomery returned from a meet with FBI members.

"Car was a late-model Sedan with dealer plates." Montgomery informed his NYPD team, "The guy pulls up at a light with a mask on, blew the tires, starts shootin' at the back of the vehicle."

"I thought the glass would be bulletproof." Castle commented.

Esposito replied, "They used cop killers. Teflon rounds. Went right through the door."

Beckett told the group, "Will's still in surgery. Moran's gonna be okay, though." She walked away, the guilt almost too much for her to cope with. Rick followed.

"You want to talk?" He quietly asked.

"There's nothing to talk about, Castle. I'm the one who pushed for it, and I'm the one who got Will involved."

"Kate, there's no way you could have known this was gonna happen."

Beckett said, "Are you sure about that? Because their vehicle was attacked leaving our meet."

Castle shrugged his shoulders, confused, "So?"

"So we were followed. Someone who knew about the investigation found out about the meet. We led them to Moran. So yeah, I should've known. And if I were a better cop, I would've."

Castle closed the space between them and quietly began to speak, "You think this is your fault? Yeah, you pushed for it, not because it's your job, but because you care. Most people come up against a wall, they give up. Not you. You don't let go. You don't back down. That's what makes you extraordinary."

Ryan approached them as he said, "He's gonna make it. He's gonna be okay."

Beckett sighed in relief. She leaned into Rick, resting her head to his shoulder. He lifted his hands into her hair, cupped her head in his hand. This was unusual behaviour for Kate to exhibit in the presence of her colleagues, but he went with it, didn't make a fuss. With everyone out of their hearing range, Rick whispered, "C'mon. Let's get you home for some sleep." With that said, he felt her head slightly nod.

It was Rick who drove the unit back to his apartment and it was getting fairly late by the time he pulled the car into a spare parking space in the garage. Kate had been quiet all the way home, had constantly monitored her phone for any updates on Sorenson but they didn't come. He unclipped his seatbelt then Kate's and scanned her face. She was pale and tired.

"You need to get some sleep," he said. "Will is going to be okay." He quietly extracted the phone from her hand and for once she didn't object. "I'll charge it for you for tomorrow."

"Thanks, Rick."

He opened the car door, got out and walked around to the passenger side when he saw she hadn't extracted herself from the vehicle. He opened her door. "C'mon, Baby." He encouraged and held out a hand. She took it and stepped out carrying a bag, and she didn't let go of his hand which surprised him. He shut the door, locked the car and took the bag from her, putting it onto his shoulder. They walked to the elevator well and waited. Kate leaned into him, silently asked for a kiss.

"There's cameras." He mumbled.

"I don't care."

"Okay." He kissed her.

When they arrived inside the loft, his mother was still up reading a magazine and nursing a glass of wine. Kate entered ahead of Rick, immediately approached the armchair Martha was seated in.

"You two are out late." She greeted.

"Mother. Is the golden child home yet?"

"Not yet. She's having fun."

Kate leaned over to press her cheek to Martha's, "Good night, Martha. It's been a long day."

"Good night Darling."

Kate made a beeline to Rick's office and walked straight through to the bedroom. She was in and out of the bathroom in a short time and went straight to bed. By the time Rick followed her into the bedroom to use the bathroom, she was settled into bed so he left her alone.

"How come you're up so late?" He asked his mother as he plugged phones in to charge for the night.

"Waiting for Alexis to return, but now you're home, I will leave that task to you." She replied then finished her wine, "You're home late."

"We had an incident. FBI guy got shot so we were at the hospital. Just left there." He replied, going to the fridge. He rifled about in it and pulled out a container of leftovers. A few minutes in the microwave and he'd have a snack.

"Is she alright?"

Rick nodded, "She's tired. Been a big day."

"Well, I'm off to bed. I will see Alexis in the morning."

He glanced to the time, almost midnight. His daughter would be home soon. His attention turned to his mother, "Good night mother."

"Darling."

Once she was on her way to the stairs, Rick fetched a bottle of water from the fridge. He took it to the bedroom, unscrewed it and sat on the side of the bed where Kate was. He stroked the side of her head.

"Kate?"

"No." She mumbled, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Water before you sleep."

"I'm asleep."

"You're talking."

"It's called sleep talking."

"Uh huh." He replied and smiled when she rolled to her back and opened her eyes to look at his. "Hey." He tilted the bottled towards her, "You haven't had a drink in hours."

Kate glanced between the bottle and Rick's eyes, a smile breaking, "Castle, you do take care of me."

"Because I care about you."

She took the bottle and a couple of sips of water. She then downed half of it, to satisfy a sudden thirst. She put the bottle to the side table.

"I hope he's okay." She said settling back into the bed.

"He'll be okay. He's out of the danger zone." Rick placed is hand to the left side of her head, stroked his thumb over her temple, "We'll figure this out and arrest the person but you need to rest first."

"Are you coming to bed?"

"Once Alexis is home, I will."

"Okay." She reached to his hand, brought it to her lips and kissed his palm. Her eyes closed.

Rick waited a minute or so, watched her fade off to sleep.

The door opened slowly to Castle's loft, that was enough to bring him from doze he was in. A hardback novel was face down on his stomach having fallen from his hand. He closed the book watching the doorway where his daughter gradually backed up.

A young man's voice said, "I, uh, I had a good time, Alexis."

Alexis timidly replied, "Me, too."

They kissed, at which time Castle momentarily looked away so he didn't see.

"Uh... good night."

"Night." Alexis leaned against the edge of the door until Owen was out of sight. She closed and locked the door in a sweet state of euphoria. She sauntered over to her father who smiled, taking a moment to admire his daughter in her formal dress.

Castle asked, "Did you have fun?"

Alexis pondered for a moment, "As a matter of fact, I did. This dating thing is kind of nice."

"How was Owen? Don't worry. I closed my eyes for the kissing part."

"Yeah, me, too. You know you didn't have to wait up."

"That's my job. I wait up. I make sure you're all right. But tonight I realized I'm not going to be doing it for much longer."

Alexis furrowed her brow, "Dad."

Castle said, "A couple years, you're gonna go off to college, you're gonna get married, you're gonna have kids, and I'm only gonna see you on holidays. Until some gold digger steals all my money, but then I get to move in with you."

Alexis said, "Wow. I feel like I just lost 30 years of my life."

Castle said, "That's how it happens. One day you're in tutus, and the next day you're... Too old for severed heads."

Alexis said, "Dad, don't worry. No matter how old I get, I'll always be your little girl."

Castle said, "Promise?

Alexis said, "Promise.

Castle said, "Thank you."

"Now go to bed. Is Kate with you? It's Friday night. I thought you would be with her."

"She's asleep in my bedroom. She was tired."

"So are you. Good night, Dad."

"Good night, Daughter." He got out of the arm chair, waited for Alexis to ascend the stairs then turned off the lights in the living area. His mind was full of thoughts about his daughter, that a young man had taken good care of her, she had enjoyed herself. As he closed the door to the bedroom, using the light of the lamp on his side of the bed, he cast his eyes on the bundle beneath the blankets, brunette hair poking out near the pillow. She was in the middle of the bed, her head more on his pillow than hers. He heard his daughter run along the hall above the bedroom and smiled. She was excited about her night out. His attention returned to the lump in the bed and he pulled off his shirt. He stepped out of his jeans as he leaned onto the mattress. A small crawl over the bed and he lifted away the blankets to peer down upon Kate's face. She sleepily blinked, looking to his eyes.

"Hey." He murmured with a smile.

"Hey." She closed her eyes, "Is she home?"

"She is. Gone to bed."

"She have fun?"

"She did." He swept back her hair, pressed his lips to her temple. He heard her make a sound, stroked his thumb over her, "You okay?"

"Mmm." She nodded. "Something was off about that meet, Rick."

"Shh. Get off the job, Kate." He slipped beneath the blankets and laid down beside her. She rolled until her back was to him and moulded to his form. He wrapped his arm about her and drew her in closer.

"Rick?"

"Mmm?"

"Can we go away a few days when this case is over?"

"Sure." He drew in a deep breath, pleasantly drowning in the scent of Kate, "Don't be worried about Will, okay? It wasn't your fault."

She took hold of Rick's hand and gave it a squeeze, "I put him in the firing line."

"Someone knew, Kate. Sleep on it."

He held her snuggly, hoping she would fall back to sleep, closed his eyes and pressed his face into the back of her head.

When he woke up at about 6.00 am, reaching for her, the bed was cold and she was gone.


	48. Chapter 48

Here it comes….

 **Chapter 48**

Rick did the trip from the loft to the Precinct via train before the Saturday rush begun. Beckett hadn't picked up any of his calls to her phone or the burner, which caused him to think she was at the Precinct because she'd figured out something on the case. If she was entailed in a new lead, the phones would be discarded on her desk.

As predicted, he found Beckett standing in front of her murder board completely focussed on the information pinned to the board. Ryan, Esposito and Castle watched her from their desks.

Ryan said, "Desk officer said she came in at 4:00 this morning. She's been at the board ever since."

Castle raised an eyebrow. Usually whenever Beckett left the bed during the night her movement brought him from sleep. If she was here at 4.00 am that implied she'd left the loft about 3.30 am. He didn't remember a thing.

Esposito interrupted his thoughts when he added, "She called us in at six am to recheck every person we talked to on the case."

"And she's had, like, nine double espressos." Ryan added, watching his boss work hard at the white board.

"Well, here we go." Rick murmured, looking to each of the men with a concerned look. He held up the coffees, "Here's her number ten."

Castle wandered up to Beckett saying, "Hey. Been reading on the internet about this new thing called sleep. Supposed to be real good for ya."

Beckett hushed him with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Shhhh."

"When I gave you that little speech last night, I really didn't mean for you to go all beautiful mind on me." He whispered.

"It wasn't anyone at the US Attorney's office." Beckett replied, "They wouldn't need us to find him. So, it had to be someone that we talked to."

"You don't think it was my mafia connection?" Castle asked.

"If he's in a rival family, then they would want Moran alive to testify because if the feds take down the Spolanos, then the other families can take over their territories. No, we are looking for someone who had access to the doctor before we got the case."

"So that leaves the fiancée and his staff," Castle replied.

As Ryan approached, he said, "Yeah, except the fiancée is clean, alibied and accounted for last night. Phone records don't indicate any calls to unknown numbers."

"I thought you already ran his staff up, Beckett."

"We did, Castle," Esposito replied, "And there were no records of anything that indicate ties to organized crime."

"What about last night?" Beckett asked.

"Maggie Dowd was at dinner with friends. Mario Guerrero worked late packing patient files, and the senior nurse, Julia Hammond, claims she was home alone." Esposito replied, reading from his notes.

"What was Mario doing packing patient files last night?"

"They're closing up shop, Beckett. Patient files are all going to new doctors."

"It's just, doesn't that seem like a weird thing to be doing on a Friday night?" She suggested.

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, when you're a low man on the totem pole, that's what life is like. People think they can call you in to work at 6:00 am" he muffled the last words with his cup of coffee, "On a Saturday."

Beckett pointed at the board to the photographs of the women who worked for Dr Leeds, "Julia Hammond and Maggie Dowd. How long did they work for Dr Leeds?"

"Uh, Hammond was with him ten years. Maggie came on a few months back. Why?" Espo asked.

"Because our low man on the totem pole Mario Guerrero started working for the doctor about a month ago."

"We checked him." Ryan replied, "We even called his nursing school. He's clean."

Beckett paused then ordered, "Check again. They can't all be clean." She walked away

"Where are you going?" Castle called, stood off the chair to follow her.

Beckett called back, "To see if Mario was actually at the office Friday night."

The Detective pushed open the doorway to the Clinic of the late Dr Leeds and held it to allow Castle to enter behind her. They saw Julia, the senior nurse and Mario behind the reception desk packing up the office.

The senior nurse stopped what she was doing and stepped to the counter to meet the detective and the writer.

"Detective. Is everything okay?"

Beckett replied, looking at the young man, "Mario, I need you to come with me."

Confused Mario looked to Julia for support, then back at Beckett, "Why?"

"We need to ask you some questions."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Beckett's cell phone started to ring so she immediately reached for her in her coat pocket, checked the caller ID and swiped.

"Beckett," she greeted.

"Its Esposito."

"What you got?" She looked to Rick who tried to listen in.

"It's Maggie," Esposito said.

"What?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yeah, its Maggie." Ryan confirmed on loud speaker, "We double-checked everything, even called the nursing schools again. This time we had 'em send pictures, and the one of Maggie. We're looking at it right now and it's a different girl."

Beckett said to Castle, "It's Maggie." She turned her attention to the nurses, "Where's Maggie Dowd?"

"She didn't come in today. Why?"

Castle reached over the desk and picked up a business card he scanned then held up for Beckett to see, "Business card from Dr Joshua Leeds, Detective?"

Beckett read, then asked, "Is Dr Leeds affiliated with St Marcus hospital?"

"Yeah," Julia replied, "That's where we do our procedures."

Castle turned to Beckett, "If she has a hospital ID-"

Beckett finished, "She can finish the job." And with that she started out of the clinic the phone to her ear, "Guys, we need a team to be rounded up to get over to St Marcus hospital to find Maggie Dowd.'

As Castle followed her out he pointed at Mario and said, "You're off the hook... But don't leave town." He turned about and hurried after her partner.

Maggie Dowd was arrested at the Hospital where Jimmy Moran was a patient about an hour after Kate organised a team of NYPD and FBI members to meet at the hospital. Mrs Robinson was present at the 12th to accept handover of the Dowd from the Detectives. Beckett and her team stayed at the Precinct to wrap things up. Castle parted company at the hospital, saying he had to meet someone.

While Kate was finalising her part of the paperwork, as fast as she could so she could go visit Sorenson before going home to get ready to go out with Castle, Montgomery approached her. "Looks like you managed to set things right with the US Attorney's office."

Beckett smiled, stapled sheets of together, "Yeah, she turned State's. When Moran recovers, the Feds will have two witnesses against the Spolanos."

"But only Maggie back there can link them to murder."

"Oh, but her real name is Carla Dante. They call her Carla Coldblood. She's been killing for the family for five years now. When Jimmy dropped dime, the Spolanos sent their best."

Montgomery raised an eyebrow, "Lady hit man. A real blow for women's rights. And the real Maggie Dowd?"

"Works for a hospital in Seattle. She had no idea that they had stolen her identity. Carla even pulled a recommendation off of a job-hunting site in order to apply for the position with Leeds. Originally, she thought she was gonna get a photograph of Moran, and when she couldn't, she went after Leeds."

"And then when Leeds didn't talk, she killed him. But why stay around the office?" The Captain asked.

Beckett replied, "If she left before Leeds' body was found, it would have looked suspicious, and she probably didn't think he'd be sitting around for a week. Then we showed up, and she waited to see how far we'd get."

"That's good work, detective. Very good work."

"Thank you, sir. You know, sir, I never thought that I would be saying this, but... I don't think I could have done it without Castle." She admitted, as hard as it was to do so.

Surprised by her generosity to compliment the writer, the Captain searched the bullpen for the writer "Where is Castle, anyway?"

"Umm.. He said he was going to meet with a friend." She shrugged her shoulders, pretending she wasn't concerned about his whereabouts. But the truth was her gut instincts were nagging at her that something wasn't right with him after he took a phone call while they were outside the hospital. He'd only said he needed to head off and would find her later. He didn't like doing the administration which caused her not to be too concerned. He always disappeared the moment paperwork was mentioned.

"He'll turn up, when it comes to you." Montgomery remarked as he walked away.

"Sir," she called after him, "What was that?"

"You heard me. You know he's fond of you, Beckett."

Kate sat down in her chair, thinking through the Captain's comments. They'd been so careful of hiding their affair, but its seemed that Montgomery saw straight through it. Her heart raced with fear that she would have to stop seeing Rick. Montgomery continued to his office as though nothing had happened. Had he warned her? Had he just made that comment because he saw Rick was fond of her? Fondness was okay, acceptable. She pretended she despised his presence most of the time but Rick continued to follow her from day to day.

She put the lid on the box then opened the top drawer of her desk. She took her burner phone out and texted Castle.

 _I'm wrapping things up here. Going to visit Sorenson to tell him the news then will go home. XX_

She put the phone into her pocket, grabbed her Police phone then stood, picking up her back.

Nervous was an understatement. Castle was on edge, afraid of learning what the ME might had found in the information he had provided the doctor a few days earlier. The ME was seated in Rick's apartment the file opened out on the table, now thicker and it contained handwritten notes that Dr Murray had penned. He held an old evidence photo out so Rick could see it. Kate's mother, dead and face down on a slab. It was cold, heartless and he now believed it was something he should never have seen. He was looking at the one thing she had threatened and then begged him not to pursue. The murder that had caused a husband to drink, a daughter to alter her future, and had put a curse over a family that couldn't get beyond that one night in January.

Rick feigned calmness and interest. He briefly wondered whether the ME noticed his slight physiological changes. If he did, then he was keeping it to himself as he continued to explain to the writer what he had learned during his investigation.

"The original M.E. concluded that the stab wounds were random." He pointed with a pen tip at the placements of the stabbings. "Now maybe the killer got lucky, but you see this wound here?" Dr Clark Murray pointed at a wound on the woman's back below the ribs.

"Yeah." He nodded and swallowed.

"It's a low-angle thrust to the kidney. The wound size indicated that the knife was twisted. Her body would have gone into immediate shock." The doctor cast his gaze over Rick's face, "Are you okay?"

 _Fuck._

"Yeah." He licked his lips, trying his hardest to ignore the bile rising into his throat. He swallowed, and pointed at the higher wounds, "What about these?"

The doctor thought for a moment then continued, "Well, their angles indicate that they were delivered after she was immobilized and on the ground. They're just for show. This is the one that killed her." He directed the pen back to the wound near the kidney.

"This is sounding less like a random killing, more like a targeted murder." Castle stated, his brow knotted the sense of unease diminishing for now.

"There's more. On a hunch, I checked the city ME files to see if this was an isolated incident and found three other stabbings around that time that the ME working the case dismissed as... random."

"Were they related?" Rick asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" The doctor inquired scanning the writer's paled face, "I must ask how far do you want to take this? Does the daughter want to know?"

Castle sighed, aware the doctor knew the identity of the daughter, "She wants to know who killed her mother, but I'm not sure she's ready right now to hear any of this."

"Be careful." The doctor closed the file. "I hear around the traps she once asked a lot of questions and then dropped it for her own good."

"She did drop it. Put it behind her." Rick accepted the file back and put it aside as the doctor stood up to leave. "Thank you, Clark. I will have to give it some thought."

"I'll show myself out Rick. Say hello to your mother."

"I will, thanks." Rick forced a smiled and waited as the doctor left the apartment. Only when he heard the front door close, he sat back in his chair and covered his face with his hands, elbows to the table. His phone beeped, the secret phone. He looked at the message. Kate was going to see Sorenson. That was good. It would do her good to visit her ex to ensure he was going to be alright. She'd done everything she possibly could to find the killer. He stared at the closed file, unaware his mother had entered the living in stealth mode. He stood up and started towards the office as he tapped back that he wanted to take her out for dinner, being a Saturday. He asked her to pick a place she wanted to try out. She had a list of restaurants on her bucket list. There was a nausea within him that he'd rarely experienced. An impending doom. He sat at his desk aware his mother followed into the office.

"I see Dr Death has been." She started.

 _My mother._

Rick sat up, his eyes lifting to see his mother.

"Mmm. He was here." He wished his mother didn't see things, would mind her own business once in a while. He sat back in his chair, watched her close in on him. She sat on the arm of one of the leather chairs studied him a moment, like a mother. "What news did he have?"

He blinked, to bring clarity back into his thoughts. All he could see was how happy Kate was around him, how cute she was when she climbed over his, smothering him with kisses because she longed for him to make love with her. She was like no other and he didn't want to lose that. It was still so new, their relationship. They soaked in the glory of their little lust bubble.

He breathed in deeply, "That there were other murders at the same time her mother was murdered. It wasn't a random murder as the detectives at the time wrapped it up to be."

Martha pressed her lips together in thought as she looked from her son to the file on his desk, "You have to tell her, you know."

"Do you know what this would do to her? To us?" He stressed and immediately the nausea became worse. "I can't Mom."

"You have information that could lead to her mother's killer. You can't keep that from her." Martha insisted.

"I know. But she said if I opened the file, that we'd be through."

"It doesn't matter. She has to know."

"It does matter. Its paramount and that's my point. There's a lot more at stake here than just a partnership and me following her around, Mom. She's my girlfriend. I think she's the one." His hands fisted on the table.

"I know she's important to you, Richard. You're head over heels about her, but you opened a can of worms when you called Clark. Now it's your responsibility to let her know what he found."

"She begged me not to poke around in it."

"You did exactly what she told you not to do, but you found something and you should tell her and let her make the decision."

"She will crawl back into the hole I brought her out of, and will never trust me again." He muttered, closing his eyes, suppressing the strong emotions building up into his throat. This was really hurting. He protected their relationship but betrayed her by holding back information, or he passed her the information and risked losing her.

"Where is she now?" His mother asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He glanced at the time, "Arr, at the hospital seeing Agent Sorenson, the guy who got shot."

"When are you seeing her?"

"Its Saturday, Mother. I want to take my girlfriend out for dinner, perhaps go to a movie, enjoy her company. Do something with her. Us." He wanted to spend the night with her, make love with her, just be with her. "Telling her today might result in me not seeing her tonight."

He needed air, fresh air. He stood up. Wavered a little.

"I'm taking a walk. Need to clear my head. Where's my daughter?"

"Out with her friends." Martha answered.

"I'll be back." He picked up the file, dropped it in a drawer and locked it, taking out the key. He didn't want his mother reading the file any time soon. Never.

He exploded out of the entrance, and inhaled deeply. It wasn't fresh air but it was cool and not filled with the scent of his mother's perfume, the heat of the house. Fumes of vehicles, rubbish and city smells surrounded him. But he sucked in oxygen like a starved man gulped food. He took about a dozen strides, when he had the sudden urge to vomit. He rushed to the nearest bin, dragged the lid off and vomited the lunch he'd enjoyed.

Minutes later he was tense, his chest constricted and heavy, and his head thumped loudly. He suffered the taste of vomit and heart burn. He walked, the emotions overwhelming his conscious control of public behaviour. He didn't care if people saw him upset. The anxiety Kate would break up with him was unbearable.

The phone in his left jean pocket vibrated. He pulled it out to see Kate had responded to his text. She was at the hospital and she couldn't wait to see him. Wanted him to stay at her place the night.

He pocketed the phone, wiped his eyes. A drink would be good. A drink would be perfect. Get the foul taste out of his mouth and take the edge off the raw emotions.

The first mouthful of whiskey tasted weird, burned his aggravated throat. He sat on the bar stool, nursed the shot glass in his left hand and his head in his right. Another five minutes passed before he made his decision. He was scared to death but he had to do it. He'd promised Kate he'd be honest. He'd gone behind her back and now he had the consequences of his actions. He downed the remainder of his drink, grabbed the bottle of water he'd ordered and left the bar.

No matter what, he had an obligation to Kate.

On her way to the hospital, Beckett bought several donuts as a gift for Will Sorenson. She carried a hot coffee she'd bought a few blocks back. Will was awake and sitting up in his hospital bed. For the first time since he had left her for work, they talked and laughed like they used to. It was all about stupid stuff, things they used to do together. It was good that the anger the carried about his leaving her was gone. She was past them now as a couple.

"No, you didn't." He objected, "Stop making me laugh." Will pleaded between weaker than usual laughter.

"Oh, come on. It's not like you've been shot or something." She said breaking a piece of donut off that she popped into her mouth.

"I thought you were over sprinkles," he commented.

Kate smiled and looked at Will, "Maybe not."

"Mm."

There was a knock on the opened door and both looked up to see Castle stood in the doorway. Kate furrowed her brow, confused by his appearance. He'd texted her earlier to say he was taking a walk and would see her later. He seemed a bit off, was pale.

"It's the writer monkey." Will commented, "What is he still doing here?" He asked Beckett then looked to Castle with a smile, "Haven't you finished your book yet?" He inquired with a mischievous tone.

"Last chapter," Rick calmly replied then focussed on Beckett. "Do you have a sec?"

"Yeah." Kate sobered, wondering why Rick was acting so serious. She wasn't sure what to make of it but her senses prickled and her stomach felt off.

"Watch it, Kate. He likes you." Will playfully warned as Kate stood off the chair and stepped towards Rick.

She said jokingly to Castle, mainly to conceal her uneasiness, "You'll have to forgive him, Castle. He is heavily medicated." She followed him out of the room noting he didn't come back with a smartass response. In fact, it appeared like something was up. Her heart rate increased with anxiety, "You look awfully serious. Is everything okay?" Beckett asked remaining light hearted from her time with Will, choosing to ignore the unease building up. She stopped in the corridor out of people's way, faced Castle and saw him point at a waiting chair.

"Take a seat." He told her.

"What?"

"Sit down."

He was quite serious. Her brow furrowed again, and she felt the anxiety in her gut strengthen. Disgruntled she looked at the plastic chairs lined against the wall but turned her gaze back to Castle who was being way too serious. His eyes were that greyish blue when he had something going on that upset him. Then it occurred to her. He was going to break up with her, right here in a damn hospital. He didn't like her being around Sorenson. She scanned his face for hint but he was damn hard to read at the best of times, "Castle, what's going on?" Her voice was timid, shaky and she sounded younger than her years. She hated how her voice betrayed her.

He looked about, unsettled, then quietly replied, "It's about your mother."

Disappointment set in Kate then her stomach did a roll as though she'd eaten bad food. She sat heavily down on the first plastic chair. "Rick, I said no. You promised me." Things were starting to hurt inside and there was a tightness in her throat.

Rick sat on the chair beside her on the edge of it so he faced her. "I know you did, but hear me out. Please."

Kate scanned his eyes, his face. He looked gravely concerned, and it caused her to think he understood he was risking a hell of a lot to share information with her. "Cas-"

"Kate," he cut in. He swallowed nervously, studied her eyes, then spilled so only she would hear, "Three people were killed the same way as your mother was and at roughly the same time."

Her heart started to bang against her ribs. Panic rose. She inhaled. "Go," she demanded using a tone that wouldn't raise attention in the hospital. She stood up, "I can't do this here."

"Then come by my place when you leave here. I'll show you what I found."

For a few seconds Kate stared at him, overwhelmed with emotions of betrayal, and deceit. He had sneaked behind her back to investigate her mother's murder. She shook her head in the negative, stepped backwards, turned and walked back to Will's room. Rick remained seated in the chair.

Inside the room, Kate maintained calmness.

"What did writer boy want?"

"Nothing important. Just something that could have waited. But look, I have to get going. I'm meeting my Dad for a coffee at the usual diner." She lied as she leaned over the bed to give his cheek a kiss.

"Say hello to him for me. Come see me tomorrow?"

"Sure." She smiled. "You rest up." She gave his head a light stroke, then grabbed her bag and keys and left the room.

When she entered the corridor, she searched for Rick who waited by the chairs. She decided to go the opposite direction to the elevators and quickly commenced to walk away. She soon sensed Castle's presence, well before he began to speak.

"Kate." His voice was deep, demanding her attention. He took a firm hold of her left upper arm to slow her down. He then stopped which caused her to have to do the same and he turned her about. "I really need to show you what I found." He quietly insisted, not wanting to raise attention to them in the middle of a hospital ward.

She glared at him, didn't make a sound but shook herself loose of his polite hold and kept going. He followed.

They stood in silence and waited in the foyer for an elevator. They stepped in with several other people. She refused to even look at him, but felt the heat of his body radiating from him. He was nervous and perspired a little. She was also certain he'd had a drink. His breath vaguely smelt of alcohol. He was worried.

She was first out of the elevator and hiked it towards the entrance of the hospital, her long legs carrying her briskly. He bustled past the exiting crown and hurried after Kate, conscious not to harm anyone else. She was outside and on the pavement by the time he caught up.

"Kate!" He called loudly after her. She continued, her pace not faltering. She paced across the car park with Castle nipping at her heels. When she got to the stairs leading out of the car park to the street, it was his hand on the railing, that prevented her from descending the stairs that had her react. She turned about to find he was right there, so close she could hit him.

"I asked you to talk about this," he firmly stated.

"We did," she said, "And I begged you to keep out of it, but you had to go digging into my Mom's murder." She spat back.

"I didn't have to dig too far before I found new evidence, Kate." He stated, then inhaled deeper, "Can we sit down and talk about this like civilised adults? I was just trying to help you." He didn't care if anyone saw them when he softly touched her cheek and wiped away the tear she shed. She refused to make eye contact with him. His thumb cleaned away another tear.

"Don't," she ordered, "Castle. Don't." She tilted her head away from his contact so he closed his fingers and lowered his hand. Disappointment was all over his face.

He quietly closed in on her space, conscious it weakened her, and said, "I'll meet you at your place and show you what I found."

"No. Go home. Go back to your life." She shook herself loose of him, turned and hurried over the car park to an alternative exit.

How she'd done it wasn't clear, but Kate had given Rick the slip in the crowd at the subway. Being taller than the average woman, she was aware he would be able to spot her quickly especially if he had a clear view of the station. She hurried through the sea of commuters along the platform until the waiting train was about to depart, when jumped into the second car, grabbing a support bar just as the train jolted forward. In a crowd of people busy with staring at mobile gadgets she stayed low but kept searching through the hundreds of human heads for Rick's. She was certain he wasn't on the train, at least not in the car she travelled in. He'd followed her to the subway but she'd lost sight of him on the platform.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Rick had hit a raw nerve she had no idea that she had lugged it around for years. She couldn't believe he had delved into her mother's file, her mother's. He could have asked. He had asked. The response would have still been a flat out no.

Kate bit her bottom lip with stress. Somebody in the NYPD had let Rick into the archives to access the file. Only cops were allowed in there. Someone had betrayed her. Someone close to them. She angrily swiped at the tear that spilt from her right eye. The train pulled into the next stop. Staying on, Kate shifted to the back of the flow as commuters stepped out of the train. She searched but didn't see him, but she knew how good he could disappear into the background.

Seconds later the doors closed and the metro train was on its way again. She was to get out at the next stop which was as close to home as she would get in this direction. Her phone buzzed so she pulled it out of her pocket and swiped it open. Her Dad had sent her a text wanting to know how she was that he hadn't heard from her in a few days.

She tapped back Sorenson had been shot and she was on her way home from visiting him. He asked back if Sorenson was okay, if she was okay and was she with Rick.

She wrote, _Will is fine, I'm okay and not with Rick anymore._

Seconds later, and as the train pulled into her home station, her father called. As she stepped from the train with fifty or so other people, she accepted the call, feeling her heart lurch into her throat.

"Dad?"

"Katie. Are you okay, Honey?"

She hurried ahead of the crowd to the stairs. It was suffocating, being amongst the people all shuffling about each other in a race to escape the confines of the station.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Have you broken up with Rick?"

"Yes." She ran up the steps anxious to get to the outside world.

"Why, Kate? What happened?"

"Dad." She pressed not wanting to share. At the top of the stairs she turned to her left and then hiked it up the pavement towards home.

"Kate, you do this all the time. They get too close and you're gone."

"Dad," she whined in objection, hurt by his comment. "It wasn't that."

"What happened?"

"He went behind my back, Dad."

"He cheated on you?"

Kate stalled a moment, surprised by the tone of her father's voice, like he would never imagine the man doing such a thing to his daughter. "No, he investigated Mom's file without asking me if he could."

"Oh. Kate." She heard her father sigh heavily, in understanding. "And you really like him. Oh dear."

At that point Kate began to cry, unable to hold it in any longer. Only one other person understood why she was upset and he remained silent on the other end of the line, his own emotions probably giving him hell. He had dated since the death of his wife but the relationships rarely lasted beyond two years. She was the same. Her Dad was also quite fond of Rick mainly because he had made the effort to get to know him, and Kate's family.

"Where are you now, Kate?"

"About half a block from home." She spun about searching for Rick but didn't see him. She continued.

"Katie, don't shut him out."

"Mom's murder, Dad." She pressed. "My personal life for his books."

"Are you …"

"His books, Dad. Fodder for his books."

She paused outside of her apartment, searching for the keys to get inside the foyer. Her father told her that her mother wouldn't want her to be living in the past, to move on and not let this be a reason to break them up, but she could hear he struggled to believe his own words.

"You run away, Katie, at the first sign of pressure. When it's about your Mother, you're nineteen years old again, Honey."

Kate plopped herself on the steps, her head dropping into her free hand. Sobs of pure despair escaped her as she listened to her father's consoling words. It was difficult to breathe.

"Why did he have to drag it up?" She cried.

"I don't know, Kate, beyond the reason he loves you and wants to help you I don't know. He's not an evil man, his intentions are not to hurt you. He promised me, man to man, he would never intentionally hurt you."

"Dad." She protested sitting up and wiping her eyes. "It hurts, what he's done."

"It's hurting you because you love him, because he defied your wishes."

"No." She shook her head. "No."

"He loves you, Kate. Can see it all over him he does. He wouldn't intentionally hurt you, Honey."

"He's never said it."

"I bet you haven't either. Sort it out with him, Kate. Talk to him."

Kate nodded, "Okay." She stood up, turned and started up the steps,

"I will."

"Your mother would have wanted you to move on, Kate."

"I know." She pressed the elevator button, then glanced behind her for a second thinking Castle was at the entrance wanting to get in. No one was there. "I'm home Dad. I'll call you tonight." The elevator came and once the doors opened she stepped inside.

"As late as you want, Honey. Don't stay mad at him."

"I need time Dad. He breached my personal space."

"I know."

"I'll talk later. Love you, Dad."

"Me too, Baby girl."

It never ceased to make her smile whenever he called her that. It gave her security. She was twenty-nine and he still treated her as his child.

Inside the security of her home she went directly to her bedroom to change and use the toilet. She had no plans to leave home for the rest of the day. She washed her face, making the decision not to cry any more.

A few minutes later she was folded up on the couch crying into bundle of dampened tissues.

There was a knock on the door. Kate stopped dead in the kitchen and looked at the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors.

"Beckett?"

It was Rick. Her anxiety shot through the roof. She stayed still and silent. He knocked again and harder. It had been about two hours since she had shaken him off at the hospital.

"Kate? I know you're home. Please let me in."

If it wasn't for the anger bubbling within her, there wasn't a chance she would have done what she did. Later she would blame her short fused temper for her actions. She walked to the door, unlocked the dead bolt, then flung open the door. Rick who leaned against the door, fell clumsily into the apartment, almost stumbling to the floor.

He managed to right himself. He looked at Kate and cautiously smiled. "Hey."

"I told you I didn't want to see you." She said, giving him a dark look.

"Kate." He gave the door a push to close it then turned the deadlock, a task that was now a habit when he visited his girlfriend. "You need to know what I found even if you decide to do nothing with it."

"Castle." She started to crumble. Her fingers fiddled with her right hip. "What if I don't want to know?"

"Kate, you're not alone in this. I have good progress," he stressed holding a folder that seemed full of papers.

Kate stepped away her face a picture of horror, as she looked from him to the file, "How did you get to the file?"

"I bribed someone."

Kate walked into the living room. That answer immediately caused her to feel insecure, betrayed. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter who, Kate. Will you just listen to what I found? You make the decision with what you do with it."

"You've taken the decision from me, Rick. You probed into something that is extremely personal and it impacts on other's lives."

"Not telling you would take the decision from you, Honey. I can't live with you knowing something important and not telling you. I tell you I risk losing you, and if I don't and you find out I risk losing you."

"I asked you not to look in to it."

"After I had started."

"You lied to me?"

"Technically, I didn't."

Kate hugged her body, watched him step closer.

"Did you tell your Father I found a new lead?" He asked.

She glared at him in disbelief. It had been an odd time for her father to make that call on a Saturday afternoon. The realisation hit her. "Oh God." She choked. "You called my Dad?" Her eyes filled with tears. "You had my Dad call me?" She started to cry, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Rick swallowed, suddenly very nervous as though he was treading deep and treacherous waters, "I was worried. I asked him to make sure you got home okay."

"No!" She shouted, "Your worry is me being your muse and your money tree."

His nostrils flared, "It was never about that, Kate."

"You were thinking about you and the trophy you have." She pointed at the file in his hand, furious at his audacity to drag her father into this.

He moved suddenly into her space, holding up the file.

"Yes, I found something good. Three other people connected to your Mother were murdered the same way about the same time, Kate."

"Its behind me. You selfishly had to intrude in my life," She broke down, grabbing her chest, "my past."

She stepped away, needing to sit down. Rick had betrayed her, and her Dad had deceived her. She had no one to confide in.

Things didn't go well at all after that moment. In fact, Rick would say it spun out of control in a rapid and drastic manner that he had a fucking chance in hell of saving.

He slammed the door of his apartment closed. Locked the door, threw the keys in the dish, then stormed off to the study, unaware whether his co-residents were at home. It did cross his mind he might have got caught on a speed camera driving home. He'd find out in a couple of weeks.

The office door was slammed shut but it didn't have the same satisfying bang the entry door did. The heavier door really produced an impact. He dropped the file on his desk beside his laptop.

Pissed off wasn't the right word to describe how he felt about what had happened today.

"Fubar!" He spat out, "Yep! Fucked up beyond all repair," he stated, staring at the sample cover of the new novel that was coming out in the next couple of weeks. He rubbed his hands though his thick hair. "God dammit."

"Fubar?" Echoed his mother from between the bookshelves. "What the hell is Fubar?"

"You would know if you had kept listening to me Mother. Don't we ever have privacy in this god forsaken house? Huh? I think it's time I introduced a privacy policy."

"Oh, Darling." She opened the door.

Rick leaned against the desk staring at his mother. "What Mom?" He asked calmly, when he really wanted to throw an absolute tantrum.

"What on earth has gotten you all pent up?" She looked down at the table and saw the file.

He followed her eye line then looked at her, "Yes, I told Beckett."

"And?"

"We had a massive, no mega fight, Mother. Happy?"

"And?" She glared at him.

"She said we're done. I'm not to go back to the Precinct."

"What about dating?"

He scoffed, "Dating?"

"Richard," she warned in a tone only he understood.

He sighed, defusing a little, "It's over. I pried into her mother's case and she didn't appreciate it one bit."

"Oh dear," Martha responded, then said, "Well, you need to find a way to mend it with her."

"She was very angry, no, pissed off to the max and she's hurting. I'm the one who hurt her. I didn't want that. I promised I would never hurt her. She won't have me back."

Martha pressed her lips together in thought, then asked, "Do you have feelings for her?"

"Of course, I do. She's…." he choked.

She leaned in encouraged him, "Go on … she's?"

"Everything."

"Do you love her."

Rick tilted his head back, looked at the ceiling then closed his eyes in thought about how he felt about Kate. She was his favourite person in the world beside his daughter. She made him happy, very happy. "Yeah, I love her. I did the moment I laid my eyes on her."

"Have you told her you love her?"

He slowly shook his head, "Never. Wanted to a thousand times. Saying it would only serve terrify her. She will have to say it first in her time."

Martha reached out and stroked her son's shoulder, "Then you have to find a way to make amends with her, especially if you think she's the one."

Rick opened his eyes, looked back at his mother and blinked several times attempting to stop the tears welling up. He was in so much pain internally that the anger had subsided. He didn't know whether to sit down and cry or grab a bottle of Scotch and drink it dry. He pressed his hand to his nose to ease the mounting tears.

"She was a mess. A total mess when I left her place."

"You should have stayed there."

"She didn't give me that choice."

"Oh. Would you like a Scotch, Honey?" His mother asked, "Let's share a night cap."

"Good idea, Mom."

After she went to bed, Rick retreated into this bedroom, wanting to be alone. Using a remote, he flicked on the radio, needing noise to drown out his thoughts.

The bottle of Scotch was the first thing Kate reached for after she slammed and locked the door behind Castle. Tears streamed down her cheeks when she stumbled across the living area to her liquor cabinet. She poured a wee amount of the aged beverage into a glass, put that down on the bench, lifted the bottle and downed a couple of good swallows. She coughed. Then she splashed a bit more of it into the glass and swapped over. She downed the contents of the glass in one swallow. She then poured a generous amount and drank half of that.

"Fuck you, Castle. Fuck you for messing in my life." She flopped to the couch, her breaths sharp and shallow. Seconds after she broke down into sobs of pure despair. There was anger that he had deceived her, anger he had intruded into her personal life after she had told him not to. Like all the men she had dated, somewhere and how, they screwed up big time. They either messed in her personal life, wanted commitment, to move in or have babies. Everything she wasn't ever ready for. But this split had torn her heart apart.

She wanted to phone Lanie, but no one knew her and Rick had been dating so talking with the doctor would only mean updating her friend. Lanie would potentially be hostile for not sharing information, which was fair enough. Kate would feel the same if it were Lanie keeping secrets from her.

With the bottle in one hand the empty glass in the other, she wandered the apartment, and cried her heart out over her sudden and unexpected break up with Castle. She had said some things she already regretted. She hated herself. She hated the way she found it necessary to push men away when the relationship become too serious, too complicated or too committed or a combination of all of them. Then on top of her issues, she'd taken the high moral ground to reprimand his actions even if he had come across good information that would progress her investigation. Perhaps, and it was possible, she had over reacted and fucked it right up. Right now, the internal rage kept logical thoughts at arm's length.

At some stage, she found herself in a small alcove of her one bedroom apartment staring at her own private murder board. She was somewhere near the border of being sober and tipping to intoxicated, and knew that one more drink would do the trick. She had a wooden box sitting on an old stool that contained bits and pieces of material she thought was important even if she didn't know why so just yet. The half full glass was on the box for now.

With three fresh post it notes, she wrote in neat capital letters the full names of the other people murdered, the individuals Rick and the ME had found. She held onto them as she navigated the board, figured the most appropriate place to have them showing, then pinned them to the cork board. Those notes would remind her to follow up any avenues of investigation they might open, when she was ready. With the drink in her hand she cast her eye over the relatively bland murder board. It had run dry a long time ago but she had kept the board up in the diminishing hope that one day she might progress on the case. She'd always done this investigation alone. Castle interfering had destabilised her in ways she didn't understand just yet. Perhaps it was a shift in power, him poking into her private life for the sake of a story, that had her rattled. Intuitively, she understood it was more than that. A primal part of her, something from her youth, had been violated, caused her to react strongly and, as an adult, she needed to address it. Not right now.

Then she oddly pondered about whether he'd slept with her to get in her head, to fully understand her so he could write his novel. Had he done it before? Had he chased down other women, seduced them, all for inspiration?

He hadn't said he loved her. Neither had she. But she'd come so close to saying it to him the other night. Half a breath away.

He hadn't. Maybe he was afraid to; maybe as scared as she was to.

That hurt. She sobbed, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and blinked.

She tipped back the drink and gulped it down. With it gone, currently burning her throat, she wandered back into the living area in search of the bottle. That last mouthful had certainly affected her senses. The clarity of her thoughts had diminished, but she still felt the awful tightness and pain in her throat and chest.

Somewhere the iPhone, the secret one, pinged because it had received a text from Castle. Castle. Their first real fight and what a doozy it had been. With the exception of her parents, while she'd been young and flighty, she had never yelled at anyone like that.

Now she was older and flighty, flightier. Her mother would have been ashamed. Would have sent her to her room. She'd never seen her parents fight like that. She'd never broken down in front of a boyfriend like she had tonight.

She accepted her behaviour had been wrong. But why did she feel so damn violated by his actions?

The secret phone was next to her work phone. She picked it up, unlocked it and read his message. It simply said he was sorry and that he would drop off any of her belongings at his place, to the Precinct soon.

She put the phone back, crossed the room and turned on her radio. Quiet music filled the silence that surrounded her. A note on desk caught her attention. In Rick's handwriting he'd jotted down a reservation for lunch tomorrow.

The song playing she liked. It took her back to a day that she and rick had gone driving for the day, like they had planned to do tomorrow. The same song had come on. Half way through it Rick had commented that he connected to the lyrics, that they reminded him of them, of her. Maroon 5. Ever since, every time she heard the song she was reminded of that day.

The secret phone beeped. She stepped to it. Saw a text from Rick that read; _I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door. I've had you so many times but somehow I want more… please speak to me._

She dropped the phone and turned to the radio. He was listening in too.

 _Tap on my window, knock on my door, I want to make you feel beautiful, I know I tend to get so insecure … Doesn't matter anymore, It's not always rainbows and butterflies, It's compromise that moves us along, yeah, My heart is full and my door's always open, You come anytime you wa-_

She turned off the radio. Enough of that song. She poured what was left of the Scotch into the glass. The song was hurting, maiming her heart. She sunk to the couch, drank and cried.

She'd never been so heartbroken in her life because of a man.


	49. Chapter 49

_Thanks for the reviews. Good to receive such an array of comments. Love it.  
The issue between them about investigating the murder is a pivotal point in the overall story arc so this part cannot be slipped out. We all know there isn't a story without conflict. And we continue … _

Chapter 49

James Beckett folded the sheets of note paper that were stained with his daughter's handwritten notes. He slowly gave them back to her while thinking about how much her cursive script was like her mother's. It was Sunday, which had his daughter out of detective clothing and in a cute bright coloured summer dress. The way she had styled her hair, she was the image of her late mother at about the same age. She didn't intend to be. He'd seen his niece Sophia a few days earlier, a woman who could easily pass as a sister to Kate. They were similar enough, that people often thought they were sisters rather than cousins. He didn't see much of himself at all in Kate.

"It's interesting information, Katie."

"Paid a high price for it, Dad." She slipped the paper into the brown suede bag that sat beside her.

"You didn't have to pay it."

"I did."

"Why? I know you asked him not to look into your Mother's case."

"Begged." She uttered before she had a mouthful of coffee.

"Begged, yes. Let's ignore that lack of respect to your wishes for a minute," he suggested and waited for his daughter's agreement which she gave with a slow blink of her eyes, "He did look into it, and he found new information. Isn't that more important?"

"Dad, I told him to leave it," she stubbornly stated.

He sat back on the café chair, scratched his head. She was also as tenacious at her mother could be, if not more. "Kate. Honey." He leaned forward again and softly asked, "Are you simply pissed at him because he found new clues that you couldn't find or is there something else?"

"Da-"

"Hear me out, Kate." He took her hand in his over the coffee table. "I mean, you are an exceptionally good cop, and maybe," he paused, "just maybe could you be a little threatened by Castle's ability to solve crimes. You are competitive. You always were."

For several moments, Kate stared out the window of the café, particularly at a couple who had a young child and a German Shepherd dog. She thought about her Dad's suggestion. Briefly, she acknowledged she wanted a family one day like she saw outside, and she pictured Rick being the person, who in this scenario, held the leash connected to the dog. She blinked, as she focused on her father and the subject of their conversation. Her insecurities.

"Dad, he has an ability to see the story and that helps put the clues together. I'm not envious of that."

"Are you angry at him for finding the clues so fast?" Jim asked as tactfully as possible.

"Yes, and no. He took the file to an unbiased ME and that ME has access to a database that he used to find similar cases. It could have been just a factor of time. I was asking a long time ago and got nowhere. The ME's are dead or gone and there are new people there now, who didn't know the history of the case."

"You're saying that time allowed new developments, fresh eyes."

"Yes, and Castle approached the best person for the job."

"Then why are you furious at him for helping you?"

"Dad." She sighed.

"Your mother was far better at tapping into your emotions, your thought processes, but I'm having a guess here, for if it isn't jealousy, then there is something else that is the problem. What Rick found was your excuse to break up with him."

Kate swallowed trying to suppress the lump building in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes and she pulled away her hands to wipe her cheeks. She whispered, "I wish-"

"I do too," he quietly responded, "Did you sleep last night?"

She shook her head as she reached into the bag for tissues she soon located. "Not a minute. Barely slept since we broke up."

"Do you love him?" Jim inquired having made the decision to force her to talk.

She began to cry, choked when she attempted to answer her father. She coughed, wiped her nose.

He saw it all over her face, "You love him."

She nodded.

"Have you told him?"

After clearing her throat, she answered, "I almost told him I loved him one night a couple of weeks back. I couldn't say it."

Jim wasn't sure what to make of his daughter's behaviour. It gravely concerned him that couldn't admit to herself she loved someone. She shrunk in her chair, conscious people noticed she was upset and made every effort to suppress the emotions.

"Why couldn't you say it?" He asked.

Kate shrugged her shoulders, gazing downwards.

"Kate. You generously tell me you love me."

She nodded, picking at the edge of the coffee table, "I was so close to telling him."

"Look at me Katie." He requested when her eyes remained on her fiddling fingers. She obediently raised her eyes to his, "You should have told him."

"I'm terrified, Dad."

"Terrified to love him?"

She nodded, "That he'll be killed being with me. That I will lose him."

"Kate, your mother's death does not mean you will lose another person you love. Don't shut yourself off because you lost your mother."

"It hurt."

"I know. So, you're gonna keep Rick at arm's length because you're afraid you will lose him. Its why you break up with boyfriends and keep friends at a safe distance, at arms distance."

"No." She stared at him with reddened teary eyes. "You make me sound silly and immature." She stated, then smiled foolishly when her father gave her a smirk.

"When the shoe fits, Katherine." He watched her process the problem. He was certain she wouldn't do anything about this, that it would have to be Rick that persisted. "Kate, your mother would have loved him. She would be kicking your ass right now."

She really smiled, wiped her eyes, "Mom and Rick would have teamed up against me."

"I agree. Eat your lunch, it's getting cold." He ordered, noting she'd barely picked at the bagel filled with salad.

Kate unlocked the door to her apartment, and juggling several items in her arms, she used her butt to push open the door. Inside, she did the same thing to close it. As she headed into the living room she dumped her work laptop bag on a cabinet by the door. The aroma of flowers flooded her nostrils and she took a second to cast her eyes over the dozen or so bunches of flowers on display throughout her one bedroom apartment. She stopped dead in her tracks a little startled. A massive teddy bear was sitting on the floor of her living room, staring at her. It had to be four feet tall sitting. It was fawn in colour with a large pink ribbon choking it about its neck. His head was flopped over like he'd died of suffocation.

"What the hell? Castle!" She dropped the grocery bag on the kitchen counter careful not to knock over the bunch of flowers sitting there. She reached out to the ribbon where an envelope hung from it. She opened the envelope then the card. In Rick's handwriting a note read: Dear Kate, Please accept my apologies. Rick.

Kate slumped onto the couch, stared at the massive teddy taking up plenty of room. Her eyes then slowly took in the abundance of beautiful and exotic flowers placed about her apartment. They would have cost Rick a fortune. The manager of her apartment block had been delivering the gifts on a daily basis. She had texted Rick to stop. He had for two days and had then resumed, proving a note that said she hadn't indicated how long to stop for.

She ran her hands through her hair then cast her eyes down her body. She needed to get out of her yoga clothes and into the shower. It was late. And thinking about Castle is one thing she'd been trying not to do all day. Her body craved his touch, his company, his scent. Her brain longed for his intellectual stimulation. She missed him and wanted him, but nearly five weeks on she still didn't know how to resolve her own issues.

She got up, to put the food away. A session with her therapist hadn't provided her with much of a resolution but had served to reinforce just how much emotional baggage she carried. She accepted everyone had their own set of issues buried inside at varying depths but according to her private psychologist, Dr Marilyn Baker, she just had trouble forgiving and moving on. Simple. She headed to the bathroom for a shower, carrying the life size soft toy with her. She would figure it out. On the edge of the bed she checked her secret phone for a call or a text from Castle. There was nothing today. Her fingers hovered over the letters, her mind contemplated how she could break the ice. He'd be awake. It was a given. He only went to bed early if he was exhausted or they were going to make love. She tapped out _Hey_ and then paused.

Her head tilted back as she cast her eyes toward the ceiling. She wanted him. She wanted his arms around her. She wanted to kiss him, desperately wanted him inside her. The intimacy they shared she had never experienced with anyone else and she missed that, missed everything about him and them.

She growled herself, at her own determination to prove a point, to hold out this long and miss out on so much.

She'd been edgy for days because of all that and a co-worker had noticed her prickly behaviour. One detective coming off the night shift had off-handedly implied Beckett needed a good lay. Taken aback, Beckett had fled the breakroom with an empty mug of coffee and had gone for a taken away. The other woman was right, out of line, but right.

Frustrated, she clenched her jaw as she glared at the three letters on the phone screen.

She needed to see Rick, to make love to Rick. He was all she wanted. To do that she had to suck it up.

She hit send.

For a long time, Rick sat alone in his office in one of the leather armchairs. He nursed a Scotch in a tumbler glass, the ice long gone in one hand and his cell phone in the other, waiting. Waiting for a text a call while he stared vacantly at the flatscreen that was running through a collection of photographs he'd taken in recent times. Most of the photos were of himself and Kate spending time together. It had been three weeks since he'd seen her, touched her and it was killing him. Early in the afternoon, the guys had called him to see why he wasn't showing up at the Precinct. Apparently, Beckett was being tight lipped about him. His last ditched effort to break down her wall had taken place today. He'd come across an enormous soft toy bear and had taken it to her apartment and slipped the apartment manager a twenty to deliver it to her home. Rick had gone home to be with his daughter. She was now in bed, most likely asleep.

He pondered over what Kate would have done with the bear, aware it would be one of two reactions. She would hate or love it.

His mother heels sounded on the floor boards. Quickly he shut off the TV, aware she would make a beeline from the front door to his office.

"Richard, you're still up."

"Yes, I am. Just finishing up a night cap. Did you have a nice evening?" He brightened up as his mother made her entrance.

"Yes. Delightful." She sat in the second armchair and studied his face. "Had a lovely dinner with great company. Good night. You-"

"I know, I look tired." He said before she started on him.

"Have you heard from her?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"At all?"

"Yeah. She's gone. Scared her too much."

"Well, she might come to her senses, Richard."

"I doubt it. Been almost four weeks so I've decided to let her go."

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna go to bed. You should be there too. You have that meeting tomorrow with your agent and the promo thing she's been going on about for the magazine."

"Yeah… that promo thing," he echoed distracted by his secret phone sparking to life in his hand. He sat up, nearly spilling his drink.

A single message read, _Hey._

"Ground control to Major Tom," Castle mumbled as a smile spread over his face. "Fuck me."

He downed his drink.

About two weeks later …

"Beckett! in my office. Now." Montgomery called out as he paced from the elevator to his office. He was dressed in a good suit. That heavily implied he'd been stuck in meetings most of the morning at 1PP. Everyone knew he disliked Police formalities and usually came from 1PP in a foul mood.

"Sir?" Kate sprung out of her chair, a knot quickly developing in her gut.

"Don't Sir me. Just get your ass in here now." The Captain sounded pissed. The boys kept their heads lowered but their eyes nervously looked at her in question as she walked the ten or so steps across the bullpen to the office. She shrugged her shoulders at the boys, gesturing with her hands she at a loss about what she had done. It would be easier to take the heat if she had a heads up and could prepare for the onslaught. She followed the Captain into his office as he stepped around his desk.

"Shut the door." He said his back to her.

"Shit." She hissed and pushed the door closed, giving Ryan a please help me look. It was his turn to shrug his shoulders and frown apologetically. She poked out her tongue at him and saw him laugh.

With the door shut, the Captain turned about, glanced up to see a very anxious woman which was exactly the state of mind he wanted her in. A little spooked and unsure about what was about to happen. He left the room silent for several long seconds. He placed his case onto the desk and unpacked his lap top, then said with a better mannered voice, "Take a seat, Detective Beckett."

She almost collapsed in the chair, which provoked him to want to laugh but he held it in. Her eyes were wide and alert.

He pulled his chair to the right position then sat, elbows resting on the chair arms, his fingers forming a triangle in front of him. He gave her a troubled, concerned look, and in return she gave him a worried but inquisitive expression.

"What's going on, Kate?" He quietly asked scanning his best detective from head to thighs. From thereon down, the desk blocked his view. She'd lost weight if that were at all possible and she seemed tired and flat. That sparkle had gone from her eyes. Whatever she had going on internally, she worked her butt off as usual, and gave every ounce of her flesh to the job. He was aware there was one important element of Kate that had been constantly missing in action recently.

"Sir?"

"Don't _Sir_ me. You know what I'm talking about."

Kate's body immediately slumped in the chair and she vacantly, tiredly, replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay. I'll play along here, Beckett."

"Roy?" She queried.

"Let's address the elephant in the room, Kate."

Kate stared at his desk top, unable to believe she was about to be reprimanded over Castle not being at the Precinct with her team. What else could it be? The man's absence was deafeningly obvious to the entire homicide branch of the 12th. She swallowed, then said, "I need more information."

"Where's Castle? Where has he been for the past four weeks?"

"Five weeks, Sir." She could have kicked herself for correcting him so quickly.

"There you go. Five weeks, huh? Time does fly."

Kate acknowledged her agreement with a single nod, "It does." However, she thought the past five weeks had pathetically dragged on.

"Why hasn't he been around? He follows you like a damn puppy."

She smirked, in amusement and disappointment. "I know he does."

"So why isn't he with you, working with your team?"

Kate inhaled deeply then confessed through clenched teeth. "We had a fight." She felt so awkward, like she was talking to her Dad about sex.

"A fight, about?"

"He did something really stupid after I told him not to."

"Elaborate. I need to know because the Mayor is gonna find out sooner or later, Kate, and I don't want any surprises."

"I don't think it will be a problem, Sir. We had a big fight."

"Over?"

"My mother's murder." She lifted her eyes to his and stayed there, hoping he would understand. He of all people would be in the best position to understand where she was coming from.

"Yikes. Alright." Montgomery said fidgeting a little. He glanced out of the office to Ryan and Esposito, wondered whether they knew and if so, why the hell they hadn't shared the news with him. He trained his eyes on Beckett and asked, "Is he okay?"

Kate's mouth dropped open, then closed, and she sat up straight, "Is he okay?" She echoed, in partial disbelief. "You sound like you're more concerned for Castle, than me."

"I know you. I know how hard you would have gone at him."

"Captain, he invaded my privacy, investigated my mother's murder behind my back," she persisted.

"Maybe so, but did he find anything new? Make any advances?"

Kate stared out the window, fiddling with her fingers and thinking. It still upset her about what he'd done but the break up had been worse, far worse. Her own stubbornness had broken her heart. She missed Castle probably more than she missed her mother. And knowing he walked the same city as her, made it harder.

"Well?"

She nodded without looking back at him, aware his brown eyes would be observing every move she made. He'd taught her to read people, to interrogate and extract information out of others. He was a master at it and she was merely his student.

"What did he find out?" He asked in a softer tone.

"That other people were murdered with the same knife, same manner as my mom, at about the same time. The ME's at the time didn't pick it up and now they're dead too."

"So, you're angry at him because he showed you up and found something, or because he re-opened old wounds?"

Kate fidgeted in discomfort. Montgomery sure knew how to press her buttons. She cleared her throat, then replied, "A bit of both. There's a lot more to it than just the case."

"Beckett, I know you two were sleeping together."

Her eyes shot up in surprise, then she guarded herself, wondering whether he was just poking about. "No, Sir."

"Kate, I know, and I let it happen because you need someone like, Castle. He's good for you. He's stops you from drowning in the job, in yourself."

"Maybe." She smiled and wiped a tear from her left cheek. "He's a pain in the ass, Roy."

"He might be a pain in the ass and I won't dispute that, Katie, but he is genius at solving crimes and figuring you out."

"He hasn't figured me out," she objected.

The Captain leaned back, took in the detective for several moments in amusement at her denial. "One Saturday evening not that long ago, I took my wife out to dinner to a new place some writer recommended. Evidently, we saw you there with Castle. You were laughing so hard at what he was talking about. We heard your laughter when we walked in the joint."

Kate's brow knotted in thought and she felt her cheeks heat up. She hadn't seen Montgomery out anywhere. "It was me?"

"It was you."

"At the steak place," she stated and saw him give a nod. "You didn't say anything." She recollected Rick was telling her stories about events in his life. "He can be funny."

"You were having a lot of fun."

"You haven't stopped us working together." She mentioned.

"And I won't," he confirmed, "Besides, you were just out having a meal together. It doesn't mean a thing. Now, what I want you to do is fix the problem you have with him, put it behind you and get him back here working with you."

"No." She replied, then defiantly pressed her lips together. She'd tried and it hadn't worked.

"You're aware that was an order, right?

"I can't do that, Sir, I already tried." It was followed with a sigh and her shoulders slumped. "He's gone."

Captain Montgomery observed the young detective was beginning to expose her true feelings, saw the personal battle going on within her.

"I saw him at the Mayor's poker night a few nights back. He told me he's been at the Hamptons. He said he hadn't had a chance to drop by. I know that was a cover. You need to reach out, Kate."

"He didn't reply to a text I sent him." Kate confessed, uncomfortable and beginning to feel angry about this reprimand.

"Try again. He's your partner until you're given other orders, is that clear?"

"What if I was sleeping with him? We're not allowed to sleep with co-workers."

"Last time I checked, his name wasn't on my payroll. I can continue to choose to look the other way. You have three days to think this out and resolve it. I want to see his ass back in that lousy chair he has taken possession of."

"Yes, Sir." Kate stood up, not seeing any sense in arguing over an issue that wasn't black and white, but filled with a lot of grey. She was too tired, and now stressed because she had to amend problems with Castle. She paused at the door and turned back to look at her Captain. "We've tried our best to keep it a secret from everyone, Roy. You caught us."

"I saw two friends meeting for dinner. That's what it looked like."

"What gave us away?"

The Captain smiled knowingly, "You. After you broke things off with him. You successfully concealed it until then. You've been miserable. I know you, girl. I've seen how happy he makes you too, how much you've grown. Go on, get out of here. I won't tell anyone so long as you sort it out with him. I want to see the happy Detective back in action."

She softly smiled, wiped her eyes.

"Oh, and you had better act pissed. Those boys are dying to know what I'm reprimanding you about."

"Yes, Sir." With that, she put on the Detective face, clenched her jaw and swung open the door. She strode out of the office, saying, "Yes, Sir, I will get right on to it." She rolled her eyes ensuring the boys saw her. They immediately got back to work.

Montgomery laughed to himself, as he looked through his emails. He found the one from some magazine, asking if they could do a photo shoot inside the Precinct. That very morning he'd obtained approval from 1PP to grant permission to go ahead, so he needed to send a response. Beckett thought she had three days to clear things up with the writer, when in fact, she only had two.

In the breakroom a few minutes later, while she had Castle's machine make her a coffee, she scanned through their text messages on her secret phone. Castle had stopped texting her almost three weeks ago. He had tried every avenue he could think of to get her to respond and she had on the most part, ignored him. Her apartment was crowded with flowers and soft toys he'd had delivered, all the notes saying the same sort of thing. Her text to him hadn't been replied.

The machine gurgled to a stop. She picked up her mug of brew and carried it to the table she sat at. Lanie had dropped by the other night unexpectedly so Kate had been forced to pretend she was ducking out for dinner when her friend had arrived. They ended up in a coffee shop. Lanie had been within inches of discovering her secret life. The house looked like a florist's shop, with red, pink, hybrid roses, gerberas of all colours, teddy bears of all shapes and sizes. Then the last gift had been a simple sheet of white paper in a white envelope, and all he had written was "I'm sorry."

She still needed time, and for him to accept and acknowledge he'd invaded her privacy.

"Bloody hell," she whispered to herself.

"About what?" Esposito asked.

"Nothing. Just something the Captain wants me to do for him."

"Oh. Did I see you using Castle's coffee machine?"

She nodded. "I figured out how to use it in his absence."

"When is writer boy coming back on board? I miss his antics."

"Seems everyone does," she replied looking up at him then about the bullpen. That was the problem, the famous writer was popular amongst her peers because he was genuinely a nice guy. Every day without fail she was asked when he was returning and everyone respected his chair. Not a sole had stolen it.

"Have you heard from him?"

"Arr. no, not really." She thought again about the gifts.

"My auntie wants a copy of the new book signed. She's been on at me since she found out its getting released soon."

"Ask him." she encouraged. "Why don't you give him a call and see what he's up to. He's your friend too." Kate suggested. That was a way of luring the writer back to the Precinct.

"I will." He pulled out his phone as he started to make coffees for himself and Ryan. "Dude! Hey. How's it going?"

Kate rolled her eyes. Then the pang of jealousy hit her. She had the biggest urge to snatch Espo's phone from him.

"Yeah, she's here… sitting around meant to be doing paper work but she's playing on her phone. We have no murder to solve and an hour left of our shift."

Kate's phone immediately got put away and she stood up. She took the coffee and returned to her desk. Three days to rectify things.


	50. Chapter 50

_This "core" of this episode has been fun to blend with AU and I'm working on the immediate part to follow this. Interesting to iron out things between them. It's a core part of their story arc so it cannot be skipped. It began the whole story to find her mother's murderer. Also, the "Hey" text. Based on real experience to the word. I'm was the recipient. I also ignored it. Been delayed in posting, as installing new flooring and had the internet unplugged. Hope you enjoy it .. and the next will follow soon._

Chapter 50

The Precinct was bustling with activity when Kate walked into the bullpen the next morning carrying her laptop bag and a cup of coffee. She had a plan. A night of smelling flowers, hugging teddies and thinking it through had caused her to draw up a plan of action. She had been focussed since the minute she'd woken, determined to see it through. However, the unusual bustling of activity in the bull pen distracted her.

People, civilians she guessed, were present in a large quantity. Professional cosmetic bags and cases were scattered everywhere. Spotlights were erected and people were scattered all over the pen. All the cops were watching on. It was then she remembered that Montgomery had mentioned to her last evening that a magazine journalist was coming by to interview the homicide squad. She also recalled he told her she had to be nice. What the hell had he implied by saying that?

"Jesus Christ," she muttered under her breath as she dumped her bag on her chair. She placed a take away coffee cup on the table. She looked at the desk. There were two take away coffee cups beside the monitor. One was labelled Kate the other labelled Rick.

"What the..?" The eyes shot up and rapidly searched the bull pen. Her heart rate increased and disturbed the butterflies in her stomach. Esposito and Ryan were cautiously eyeing her off. She gave them a narrow-eyed stare down then continued her scan of the floor. There he was. A woman was applying make-up to his face.

Richard Castle.

The writer.

The ex-partner.

The ex-boyfriend.

Fuck he looked hot.

Kate pointed. Realised how rude it was and dropped her arm.

"What the hell is he doing here?" She hissed at Ryan.

The detective smirked and shrugged his shoulder, "Captain said he's here for a magazine article. Make a better impression of the NYPD on the public, and she…" he pointed to an Asian woman in a business suit who held a note pad, "…is waiting to interview the detective who inspired, him…" he pointed at Castle, "the writer to create Nikki Heat." He grinned and pointed at Kate.

"Shut up," she snapped, then seethed. She wanted to smack his hand out of the air but he dropped it before she had a chance.

Captain Montgomery had failed to mention that Castle was the key element to this interview. Had obviously slipped his mind during that little chat they'd had yesterday, or it had been his subtext to prepare her for today? She'd been tricked by the master of manipulation. Frustrated, and skating along the edge of being pissed off, she shrugged herself out of her leather jacket. She hung it up, then arranged the items on her desk so she was able to actually sit at it, continuously glancing over at the writer in his fancy expensive suit surrounded by women. She moved the two cups of coffee out of the way but kept the one she had bought within her reach. She needed more than coffee. She hadn't seen Rick since he had walked out of her apartment after their first real fight.

The journalist clip clopped over the floor boards in awkward heels to Kate's desk. Kate watched her, glancing between the woman and Rick who hadn't noticed her arrival to the Precinct. He was too busy joking with the women who groped him, two of which were barely dressed in police uniforms only fit for the bedroom.

The magazine woman arrived at Kate's desk and greeted, "Hello, Detective Beckett?"

Kate nodded. She had been ordered to be nice. "Yes." She smiled like a model.

"I'm Amy from Cosmo." She sat in Rick's chair, "Oh my God, it's so easy to know Rick Castle was talking about you. You are exactly how he described you."

Kate raised an eyebrow, "Really? Wait till I describe him," she replied. Esposito laughed. Kate reprimanded him with a dark glare.

Oblivious to the sarcasm, Amy remained seated on Castle's chair and organised her equipment to start the interview. Kate, frustrated with that too, glanced between the chair and Rick who had both arms full with two bimbo models. Rick was clearly happy with the situation. Too happy.

"What's so special about world-famous mystery novelist, Richard Castle? He's rich, he's handsome, and he's basing his next best seller on you. Tell me, Detective Beckett, what's it like being the inspiration for thrill master Richard Castle's new character, Nikki Heat?"

Kate Beckett maintained perfect control her feelings, and calmly replied, "On behalf of the NYPD, it has been a pleasure to offer Mr Castle insight into the profession." She used the entire skill set of her limited high school acting training to carry this off.

Amy the reporter continued on, microphone bouncing about, "Given all his best sellers, it's obvious Mr Castle has tremendous insight into the criminal mind. I'm told on many occasions his participation was essential to solving your toughest cases." She reached over the desk to put the microphone closer to Kate's mouth.

Kate drew back, staring in disgust at the microphone, then looked at the reporter, "Really?" Beckett glanced at Rick, "You were told that? By who?"

The young woman bobbed her head, "By Castle."

Kate wasn't at all comfortable about where she anticipated this interview was going. She sighted Captain Montgomery come from the elevator. He paused to take in the activities in the bullpen. Not one element of surprise crossed his face, but he smiled at the sight of the two models hanging off Rick while continued to his office.

Kate scrambled up from her chair, "Can you excuse me for a moment?" She said to the journalist. She left her desk, and made a rushed beeline to the Captain who was on his way to his office.

"Sir? Could I talk to you in private for a moment, please?"

The Captain paused, "Detective Beckett, I have…"

"Now," she pressed, following him.

"We had a deal, Beckett."

Beckett rapidly shot back, "Then the deal is off." She swallowed, because she didn't want a recount of yesterday's discussion. Other cops at the 12th and neighbouring precincts had noticed and regularly queried her about the writer's absence. He had a large presence and people missed him when he wasn't around. She'd had answers prepared, excuses she used whenever she was asked where the writer was; that Rick had stayed up at the Hamptons with his daughter, was writing, or away on vacation It had even made the 12th Monthly e-newsletter that he'd taken a break. A heading had been created asking where the writer was and beneath that had been a mug shot of Castle and a rundown of the last place he was seen.

However, Montgomery had caught on to her excuses, and now had the advantage. It hadn't mattered what she told others. What had mattered was Montgomery hadn't challenged her until their conversation. Then Castle turned up that morning with his entourage of photographers, models and journalists.

"What's the problem?" Montgomery inquired.

The Detective wore a seriously worried expression, mainly because she heard his impatience. She remained silent, stewing about what to say or do to get Castle out of the Precinct for good.

"I thought we covered this yesterday," the Captain commented.

"Not this." Kate bit the bullet and blurted out, "Not only does he have the bachelor party cop twins using him as a stripper pole, while I make nicey-nice with the press, do you know what he said?"

The Captain was amused by Beckett. "No," he answered. As a seasoned homicide cop, he too could read between the lines. What was going on here wasn't about the party girls, nor the journalist. It was Castle being inside the bullpen.

Beckett pushed on even though she could see she was humiliating herself, "He said that he has been instrumental in helping us solve crimes."

The Captain raised his eyebrow, "Oh. Well, hasn't he?"

This was a painful experience for Kate. She could see Montgomery was pissing himself laughing inside, that he found this amusing at her expense, "That's not the point," she said, and winced at the tones of humiliation in her voice.

The Captain decided it was time to install authority. Kate Beckett needed to have Castle as a friend and partner, and occasionally, like right now, she needed a good kick up the ass to suppress that strong vein of stubbornness she could show. So he delivered. "Do you know how hard it is for NYPD to get good press? I mean in a magazine that people actually read? This article is very important to the Mayor, therefore we are going to cooperate. Do I make myself clear?

"About the three days," he further said, "Here's your opportunity to step up and clear with air with him."

"Yes, Sir," She replied then left the Captain's office. She made a beeline to the break room. She needed a coffee, even though there were two unfinished cups on her desk. Right up her ass were Detectives Ryan and Esposito.

"Hey Beckett. We should have photo shoots here more often."

She grunted her disapproval while secretly spying on Castle through the blinds. He was being fondled by the two female models in police type of outfits but short and showing way too much butt and boobs. Jealously raged within. She momentarily gritted her teeth. "Get off him," she hissed.

"Hey, Beckett, how come you don't wear a uniform like that?"

"Because I don't want to get paid in singles," she curtly replied glancing through the blinds again to see Castle with his arms still around the two models, gorgeous models. He'd probably be dating both of them tonight. She continued to make fresh coffee with the boys who were using Castle's machine. "Anyway, my boobs wouldn't fit those outfits," she muttered which caused the men to laugh. She focussed on the coffee to ensure she didn't burn herself with steam.

"Hey." Castle said, leaning through the door frame. Kate's eyes shot to the door.

Ryan quickly said to Esposito, "Oh, hey, don't we have that thing?"

Esposito was blatantly interested in the interaction between Beckett and Castle. "No."

Ryan insisted, "Yeah, you know, that thing with that guy."

"Oh yeah, that thing with the guy."

"Yeah. Excuse us."

Rick almost crept up to Beckett, conscious she might just lash out at him. He carefully said, "I just wanted you to know I had nothing to do with this. I mean, it was the magazine, the mayor thought it would be good press." He bit his bottom lip and his blue eyes were like a scalded puppy. They had that expression that would melt the hardest of people.

Beckett continued with making the coffee, made all attempts to avoid eye contact so she didn't succumb. She nonchalantly replied, "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"I don't?" He sounded surprised.

"No," she confirmed, "See? I don't care anymore. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an interview to get back to." She smiled, lips closed, then wait for him to step aside so she could pass.

Rick stood his ground, "Like, it's been weeks," he stressed and took a deep breath, his expression disillusioned and confused, "What did I do that was so wrong?" He asked with sincere frustration.

Kate paused, her face serious. "The one thing I asked you not to do," she answered immediately wondering why the hell he needed to ask that when it was what had caused a major fight and their split up.

"Okay, so you asked me not to look into your mother's murder, but look at what I found." He stressed and followed her out of the breakroom as she made her way back to her desk.

"It doesn't matter what you found," she said on the way, "I put that behind me a long time ago. We can get back to the interview now." She said to the reporter.

"No, you can't do that," Espo cut in, "You're going to have to re-schedule. We just caught a body."

Beckett couldn't hide her pleasure as she said to Amy, "So sorry to step out on you, Amy."

Amy stood up, excited, "Oh, are you kidding? It's perfect! A chance to see Castle in action. Our readers will love it."

The Captain who was overseeing what was going on his precinct said mainly to Beckett, "Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint your readers now, would we, Detective?"

"No Sir." Beckett said as she grabbed her gun, jacket and car keys. "Could agree more," she couldn't resist adding. She was on her way out of the bull pen to find a murderer. The boys hurried to catch up with her as she made her way to the elevator.

They all faced the door in the elevator, watching the numbers descent to the basement level car park. Beckett stood at the back in the middle. Everyone was silent aware of the tension. As the elevator came to a halt she said.

"You can ride with the Ryan and Esposito, Castle."

Rick sighed. "C'mon Beckett."

She raised her hand to shut him up. She wasn't in the mood.

"Don't." Esposito said, when Castle went to say something. "You're in the back." The doors opened, and everyone stepped out. Kate walked ahead alone to her car not looking at anyone.

Although she drove to the crime scene alone, the boys were behind her in their car, and the Cosmo gang followed up behind. Travelling in convoy, they made their way to the crime scene no lights flashing. There was no point in rushing as the victim wasn't going anywhere.

Reality set in quickly for Kate once she was alone in the car. Rick obviously had moved on from their fight and clearly didn't understand or had forgotten why she wasn't letting go of what he'd done. He was flippant with his comments. She pretended she'd put it into the past but she hadn't. There had been days during the last few weeks she had desperately wanted to see him, be with him but her own stubbornness had held her off. Then there were days she'd been pissed off at him for having delved into her mother's murder, for finding the links. She'd consequently spent nights going through her evidence trying to figure out why she hadn't found the information. She had years of searching and he found key information in a split second. She wanted to progress with her investigation, but experience caused her to not go there, not take the risk that she might end up obsessed again.

Waiting at a red light she stared through the rear vision mirror at the three men in the red vehicle. She could barely see them in the available evening light, but she could see that Castle was being animated and moving about in the back seat. Esposito, who was driving, had his eyes ahead but Ryan was looking behind him. She wiped beneath her eyes then wiped the tears on her pants. She sniffed.

She wanted Castle in her life, she wanted him completely out of her life.

Once she'd parked nearby the crime scene, Kate was straight out of her car and striding toward the police tape. Car doors closed and footfalls behind her indicated someone was running to catch up with her.

"Hey, can we talk about this, please?"

It was Castle.

She kept walking.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said.

"Well, then, at least let me know what I can do to make it up to you," he said, then whispered so no one would hear, "I miss you. What do I have to do for you to let me back in?"

"You could leave me alone," she replied.

"I really want to see you, Kate."

"I don't want to see you," she hissed, and then added, "And come and get all the flowers and teddies. Can't you leave me alone?"

Rick paused, because her last words had hurt, and he couldn't reply because the others would now hear him. "Well, yes, I tried to leave you alone and it didn't work for me. Hey! I could buy you a pony!"

For the first time, Kate looked at him, mostly in disbelief that he had suggested the purchase of a pony. She wanted a horse, but she lived in New York City. Beside the last teddy was the size of a pony. "Focus, Castle. A crime scene, okay?"

Rick searched her face for a glimpse that she was just playing him, putting on a show because they were in public, but he saw nothing, no compassion. There wasn't a hint she was messing about. Then just as she looked away he noticed she'd been crying. Softly, he said, "Kate?"

She ignored him.

Beckett stopped to take in the scene before her. Lighting had been set up and a cherry picker was perched under a tree, its bucket way up in the air inside the branches of the large tree. She sighted Dr Parish who stood inside the bucket and a man was drooped over a branch like a wet towel. Very dead.

"It's raining men," Castle said standing beside Beckett. He decided to pretend things were normal.

Lanie peered down to the ground, trying to block the bright lights from her eyes. She could see her friends standing below the tree in a line, all staring up at her in the bloody tree. What the hell? Castle was there. "Castle, what are you doin' here?"

"Don't worry, we're still mad at him." Beckett called back up to Lanie.

Ryan smirked and muttered to Esposito, "Guy in a tree, Mom and Dad bickering. It seems like old times."

Esposito smiled and nodded his agreement.

Beckett half shouted so she would be heard over the city noises, "How's it going up there?"

"I got tree branches poking my boobs and a spotlight shining up my booty," the Doctor replied.

"It could be worse, you could be wearing a skirt." Esposito couldn't resist saying. The guys had a quiet giggle until Beckett glared at them.

"When I come down I'm going to smack you," Lanie stated.

"I'm looking forward to that," Esposito replied.

"Here," she threw down the victim's wallet that Esposito caught. "Vic's a white male, late mid-thirties, judging from the cracked branches, I'm guessing he did a superman off the top of that building."

Esposito opened the wallet and slipped a licence card out, "Vic's name is John Allen. ID has him on the Upper West Side." He then found a small stack of cards, "Business card has him in insurance."

The Cosmo journalist piped up, "Is it a suicide?"

Simultaneously Castle and Becket replied, "It's not a suicide." Rick kind of smiled pleased they still had it, the ability to think together.

"How do you know?" Amy asked.

Beckett replied, "Uh, the building is too short. he'd want to kill himself, not cripple himself."

Castle further explained, "If he wanted to kill himself, he'd aim for concrete, not a tree. Judging from the angle of descent, I'd say the guy was thrown off the building."

"Since it's clearly not a suicide, how did he die?" Beckett asked.

Lanie gazed over the body she was standing over, "There are signs of strangulation, looks like his windpipe was crushed."

"Any ligature marks?" The senior detective asked.

"No." Lanie answered.

Castle looked to the journalist and said, "Ligature refers to anything that ties or binds, like rope or a belt, anything that leaves marks, suggesting he was strangled by hand."

Beckett rolled her eyes at his arrogance to answer something the detectives were better qualified to explain.

"You really know your stuff, no wonder they like having you around." Amy said which only caused Beckett's eyes to roll once again.

She said, "You know what, he's such an incredible resource it seems like a shame to waste his talents here in the field. Would you mind going back to the morgue with Doctor Parish to see what else you can find out about the vic?"

"Don't you think I'd be more use here at the crime scene?"

"Oh no. We're just gonna knock on doors and see what else we can stir up. You know, boring police stuff."

"Fine. But I was serious about the pony." Rick said and then turned his attention to Amy, "C'mon, I'll show you the morgue-mobile."

Beckett asked Ryan, "Anything in the wallet?"

"Nope. Dry cleaning ticket, ID, two credit cards. Cash was missing though."

Amy asked a few minutes later as the body was rolled into the back of the van, "You mean we have to ride with the body?"

"You can take my seat up front." Dr Parish offered, giving Rick a dark look.

"You sure?" Amy asked.

"Um hmm. I'm used to hanging out with stiffs." Lanie said eyeing off Castle who waited for the bus to leave.

Castle cautiously looked at Dr Parish and meekly said, "Hi.

"Uh uh, you do not get to say hi to me. I'm just doing my girl a favour."

"Oh, you too, huh." Castle said in resignation he was in the dog house with Beckett's best friend.

"Well, what did you expect? Beckett spent the first three years of being a cop trying to solve her mother's murder. It took everything she had to put it behind her, so you couldn't respect that?" The doctor asked.

Rick replied, "What was I supposed to do? Not tell her what I found?"

Suddenly inquisitive to what the writer had found, what Beckett had failed to tell her, had her ask, "What have you found?"

Somewhere not surprised by the doctor's reaction, he replied, "Oh, she didn't tell you, did she? Three people were killed the same way her mother was right about the same time. One of them was a former law student of hers, another one, a documents clerk, the third one, a lawyer for a non-profit organisation."

"Wait, the ME didn't make the connection?"

"If he did, he buried it."

"Did you talk to him?" Lanie asked.

"He died four years ago. So, you see why I had to tell her."

With less annoyance, and more understanding, she asked, "What did she say?"

"That we were done. And then she just walked –"

The van came to a sudden halt disrupting their seating. The door swung open and men pointing rifles at them barged into the back of the van. They grabbed the gurney and dragged it out of the van.

"Is that just me, or is that really, really weird?" Castle asked looked to a ruffled doctor who was collecting herself.

"They just stole the body, Castle!" She screeched.

Castle made the call to Beckett to give her the news the ME van had been hijacked so the body could be snatched by masked and armed men. Once he got over the surprise she'd answered his call, he gave her the details as fast as possible so she didn't yell at him for letting them take the body. He was already in the shit with her and didn't want the depth of it to increase. Right now he needed all the help he could get to break her. Cosmo hadn't helped and now the body being snatched would put pressure on her job.

They met at the crime scene and once things were sorted out, the ME drove the van back to the ME's building. Lanie caught a ride home with Esposito, and Ryan and Beckett finally relented and allowed Castle to travel shotgun with her back to the precinct. They drove in silence for the first five or so minutes. Kate was clearly anxious about his presence in the car. He desperately tried to think of something to say in the short time frame he had alone with her, that would get her talking. She clammed up and she held a grudge better than anyone he knew. While she drove, he gazed about, still a little shaken by the hold up in the van. He noticed the used tissues, scrunched up in the middle console, wondering whether they had been used earlier. She had been upset by his return to the Precinct, regardless of the fact it was not his decision to be there.

He stared at the profile of her face, the lights of the city flashing against her pale skin as they drove on. He accepted he'd just gone through the slowest and loneliest five or so weeks of his life. Her absence had had a profound effect on his mental state.

"I've missed you," he quietly said, "every minute of every day I haven't seen you." He swallowed nervously and waited for the reaction. He felt vulnerable and didn't want her tearing a new hole in him. If not now, it would strike at him later. She glanced to his face, her eyes showing she was angry and upset with him. Her knuckles had turned white with her fingers gripping the steering wheel as though she was hanging on for dear life. It was a side of Kate he hadn't seen and he hoped not to see it again.

"We were great at being together," he added, "And I miss that. I miss us."

Her lips pressed together. "You should have thought about that before you stuck your nose in my mother's murder, after I asked you not to." Kate lashed at him.

Rick fidgeted, "Okay," he fumed. He stared out front. "Fuck, you can hold on to a grudge." He glared at her. A cold glance was shot at him.

And that finished the conversation.

They rode in silence the rest of the way. Rick Castle understood women and instinctively knew it was time for him to shut up. Kate needed more time.

He decided there and then with clenched fists and jaw that he would remain determined to break her down no matter how hard it got. He really had missed Kate Beckett more than words could say.

They took the elevator to the homicide floor with continued silence, both facing the front with a good foot of space between staring at the numbers ascending. Rick waited for Kate to leave the box ahead of him and as he stepped out, he smiled and commenced to act as though everything was fine.

Lanie cornered Castle to examine him, aware he had taken a knock to the head when the van had been stopped. He obliged and sat on the edge of a desk to let the ME undertake her job.

"I thought you only dealt with dead patients," he said to the doctor.

"The way Beckett is with you right now, you might be my next patient," she quietly replied.

"Yeah, about that," he murmured, "You notice how fucking pissed off she is at me."

"I did. I'll talk to her. Calm her down."

"Would help. I've invested about a grand on flowers and soft toys apologising for helping her. I now have to break down that wall she's erected."

Lanie paused and stared at him, obviously confused by his comment. His bright blue eyes looked right into hers. "A grand? She didn't tell me…" She glanced at Beckett who was on her way to the ladies. "Is there something I'm missing here? You spent a grand?"

"Yes, her home is or was full of flowers and teddy bears." He said, his eyes large and innocent.

Dr Parish was finding it difficult to process the information. She and Beckett had been out a few times while Castle had been absent. "She never told me that."

"And she won't."

The doctor took his jaw in her hand and positioned his head to ensure he looked at her. "Richard, have you two been-"

"Lanie." Rick cut in, "I don't kiss and tell about my sexual life or lack thereof."

She let him go, glancing over the room to see if Beckett was on her way back then said, "You and I are talking later, but don't you give up on her. She needs you even if she doesn't know it."

"This thing with her mother runs deeper in her than even I thought," he muttered.

"It was bad, Castle, and she still grieves her loss," Lanie whispered. "Don't give up,"

"I won't."

"She's watching me now."

"She'll be jealous," he replied but didn't search for Kate.

Lanie held back a smile, "Mmm hmmm that she is."

"It's cute, the way she does what she's probably doing right now," he smiled.

Captain Montgomery approached the group, "Well?"

Lanie flicked Castle on the cheek, "He'll live."

Ryan asked, "What, no brain damage?"

"If he has some, it happened way before tonight and was probably self-inflicted," the doctor commented packing medical instruments into a bag.

Rick grinned, reflecting, "Ahh, good times."

"How's Lois Lane?" Montgomery asked.

"Who?" Ryan inquired, "Oh, the reporter chick? We took her statement and we sent her home. We got an APB on the sedan. CSU is combing the rooftop and we got unis looking for surveillance footage of the crash site."

Esposito nodded, "You know what I don't get, is who would steal a dead body?"

Castle quickly became excited, "Oh, plenty of people. Organ harvesters, cadaver-less med students, Satanists, mad scientists looking to create their own monster."

Beckett, who returned to where everyone was gathered, circled the group. She brought logic back into the conversation, "Or the guys who killed him might have left some evidence behind."

Castle thought about that then said, "Boring," dismissing her. "How about a spy having swallowed a top secret microchip that the enemy forces murdered him over before the CIA could get a hold of him.

Kate who had observed the doctor and Rick together, was feeling quite jealous about the situation, particularly Lanie touching Rick. Although she knew it was unnecessary to be threatened by her friend, the feeling remained, which kept her occupied with trying to understand. As much as she despised him right now, she hadn't enjoyed it one bit seeing her friend touch the man. She didn't like feeling jealous but she couldn't help it. The feeling was present and she had to deal with It, and how would she do that? Gain his attention of course. She challenged him.

"As much as we all appreciate your insightful and incredibly believable theories, Miss Cosmo is gone so I believe you can go home now."

Rick immediately turned at the sound of Beckett's voioce. "Oh no. Listen, this case just got good. And I'm a witness." Rick objected seeking support from their friends who circled them. She was there, directly in front of him staring up at him with those gorgeous, angry hazel eyes.

"All right, I'll let you work this one case with me,' Beckett said, "If you promise to leave me alone when it's over and not to weasel your way back in."

Rick shifted his weight from one leg to the other and tilted his head really focussing on his opponent. "Deal. But fair warning, Detective, I will make you change your mind." He sounded determined, which caused their spectators to mumble between themselves, making bets. Money shuffled from hand to hand.

"I won't." Kate firmly replied.

"You will." Rick persisted, then released the tension by looking to the others, "So, what's the next step? Victim's family?"

Ryan handed Esposito money. "I didn't think she'd take him back."

"Easy money." Esposito replied.

The Captain leaned in and handed Ryan a twenty, "I'm in that he will break her down."

"I can't believe you lot," Kate said to the men. "There's a chance in hell he will win this. He will be out on his ass when this case is solved." She glanced at Rick, saw the flash across his face that she'd hurt him, that he understood she had been serious. It happened in a second, so fast she questioned whether she'd imagined it. He concealed his thoughts and laughed.

"I can't bet against myself," he said.

"Kate, come join me in the break room a minute. Get away from these boys." Lanie invited casually and hooked her arm through Kate's.

"We need to leave."

"It can wait a minute," the doctor replied as she guided Kate to the breakout. She gave the men a stay there look, saw them gather around.

The door was closed and the two women stopped at the coffee machine. Kate went to the sink, grabbed a glass and filled it with water. "You don't drink coffee, Lanie," she said after she had drunk half the water.

"No, I don't. What is going on with you and Castle? I thought he was busy writing a book."

"He was."

"He said you two had a fight about your mom's case."

Kate immediately rolled her eyes. "He told you?"

"Only after I had a go on him because of what you told me. You didn't say he'd found more evidence."

"I told him to stay out of it. He ignored me," Kate replied, then swallowed nervously, folding her arms over her chest.

"He's been sending you flowers and soft toys?"

Kate's eyes rolled. "He told you?"

"He did." Lanie studied her friend, the brow knotting. She glanced through the window to see Castle chatting actively with Esposito and Ryan. The Captain had returned to his office. She saw the writer's eyes momentarily look over and their gaze met. She looked back at Kate.

"There's more to it than just your mother." Lanie stated which caused Kate to shake her head in denial. "Kate?" Lanie pressed.

"No. I let him in too close, Lanie."

"Okay. You know he really likes you, don't you, Honey."

Kate dropped the protective stance and slumped on a stool. Her whole demeanour changed in an instance. Sad eyes looked at the doctor, "Captain Montgomery has ordered me to make things right with Castle, that he is to return to the Precinct as my partner."

"What?" Lanie furrowed her brow and placed a hand to her hip.

"Mm." Kate nodded, "I have to make amends with him. No choice."

"Montgomery is making you have Castle as your partner."

"Yes." Once again, Kate nodded, staring through the window at the three guys mucking around. She knew that Castle enjoyed the company of the detectives and there was a large part of her that felt bad for keeping him away. The three of them laughed and joked. The body being stolen had sent the boys into a little bit of a frenzy.

"What will you do?"

"I have no choice, Lanie."

"You have a choice. He adores you."

"Yeah," she replied turning her eyes down, then she looked up through the window at Rick talking with the guys.

"Kate." Lanie said. "Please don't be someone you're not. Don't push …"

Kate stood up, "We have to go see the deceased's wife before it gets too late."

"Sure. You do that, Kate. Continue to hide in your work."

"Love you Lanie." She called back as she walked away.

"Don't talk to me." Kate ordered over the roof of the police car with a glare that could possibly kill him.

"I won't," Castle said right back, then got in the car. The doors closed simultaneously and both reached for their seatbelts at the same time. Their eyes happened to also lock. Kate looked down first, to ensure she had the buckle in its slot. Clicked in place, she faced the front windscreen and slipped the key in the ignition. Rick sat still and quiet, for once.

Both maintained a stare straight out the front window as Kate drove out of the parking garage. They completed the drive in seven minutes and were quiet the entire trip. They gained access to the apartment building via a buzzer directly to the residence of Mrs Allen. Kate walked ahead along the hallway until they came to a doorway at the end.

Kate tapped on the door. Seconds later the door was opened to a woman in her early forties. Two kids were on the floor in front of a flat screen.

Beckett spoke first. "Mrs. Allen?" She held up her NYPD badge.

"Yes?"

"It's about your husband. We need to talk somewhere private." She said then directed her gaze to the children so Mrs Allen would understand she didn't want them hearing their conversation.

The woman acknowledged and opened the door for Castle and Beckett to enter the home.

"He was just right here, just a couple of hours ago. And now he's dead," Mrs Allen stated clearly upset by the news her husband was deceased.

"Do you know of any reason why he'd be in that part of town?" Beckett gently asked and then gave the woman time to process the events and the questions.

"No. His office is in midtown, it's nowhere near ninth." She replied.

Beckett asked, "What time did he leave the apartment?

"Around six. He had just gotten back from his trip and he said he needed to catch up on some paperwork. He said he'd only be gone for a couple of hours."

Castle noted, "You said a trip?"

Mrs Allen nodded, "He was in Albuquerque on a training seminar. It was just two nights."

"Did you notice anything unusual recently? Any strange behaviour?"

"He had to work late a little more often than usual, Detective Beckett. But in this economy, who doesn't? He had to lay off half of his department last year.

Castle asked, "And you're sure he was working late?"

Mrs Allen looked questioningly at Castle, "What are you saying? That he was cheating? Every night he would walk through that door and the kids would just race into his arms, okay? And now he's gone. So, don't ask me if he was really working late, tell me why he was killed."

Beckett glanced at Rick with a caution glare, "He didn't mean to imply—"

Castle continued, "What about phone calls, maybe late at night?"

Beckett whispered, "Castle!"

Her eyes lit up, "Yeah. Yeah, one of the guys that John fired, Max Haverstock, he would call him up late at night and he would yell at him... all sorts of things. I guess he was hurting, he needed money. I told John he should just hang up on him. John said no, he couldn't do that.""

Beckett asked, "Did he ever give him money?"

"My husband didn't believe in handouts. He believed that a man should make his way. Where is he? I'd like to say goodbye."

Beckett pressed her lips together, physically hinted at Rick to now speak up but he remained buttoned up, "About that, umm..."

The door of Mrs Allen's closed on Castle and Beckett. They paused in the hallway.

Castle quietly stated, "That was awkward."

Beckett started to walk, "It's just...it doesn't make any sense. The guy has a stable, middle class life, a good job, good family," she said having forgotten that she wasn't talking to Rick who fell in beside to make their way out of the apartment building.

"Maybe his friend Max was jealous."

She shrugged, not dismissing Castle's suggestion, and pulled her cell phone out, "Maybe enough to kill him, but to steal his body?" She dialled a number, "Hey Esposito, I need you to look up a friend of the victim for me." They waited for the elevator. "Max Haverstock."

Rick held the doors open and stepped into the elevator ahead of the Detective.

"Yeah." She replied to Esposito, "Okay, find him first thing and bring him in." She leaned against the wall as the elevator descended. "Bye." The phone was put away and she fell silent. She went to sneak in a look at Rick, but when she saw he was gazing at her, she looked down. Her cheeks coloured.

Rick checked the time, "I'm calling it a night," he stated.

"Mm. Me too." She confirmed, shyly casting her eyes to his face.

"I won't bite, Kate," he reassured.

She instantly shot her eyes to check the floors they were passing. Level two. Nearly at ground. "I know," she whispered.

"You got the flowers." He stated even though he knew. But right now she seemed more willing to talk a little.

"Mm. And teddies." She thought about the giant bear, that she'd spent quite a few nights sleeping against. The flowers were mostly gone now but she had a collection of soft toys she also sat on her bed each morning after she made it.

"Will you go for a coffee, shake? Maybe something to eat?" Rick asked cautiously as the elevator doors opened.

Kate was out of the elevator and she walked across the small foyer to the entrance. She paused, glanced over her shoulder to ensure Rick followed, then pushed open the door. Outside she inhaled fresh night air and let go of the door once Rick was through it. Her head was spinning and the cool air was refreshing. She then looked at him as she found the car keys. Drawing on her detective persona, she replied, "I don't think that's a good idea." She swallowed, trying not to show him how anxious she felt. She wanted to be with him, wanted to run away. The expression changed, the look his in eyes hardened. He gave a single nod.

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna head off home."

She pointed nervously at the car, "I can drop you there."

"Thanks, but I can walk. I need to clear my head," he paused, swallowed, "Kate. Good night."

"Good night, Castle." She watched him turn and commence his walk home, a journey of about 15 minutes on foot, she guessed. She remained where she was, waiting for him to turn back and tell her he was joking, but he didn't.


	51. Chapter 51

_This is larger mainly because I chose to work within the scenes and add to them. Been very busy so my writing time has been limited to short periods. Enjoy._

Chapter 51

Precinct

Upon arrival at the Precinct the next morning, Rick carried an attitude of confidence. He was going to successfully chip away at the wall Detective Beckett had built between them. Preparing for work, he had decided to wear the clothing Kate had favourably commented on and he wore the cologne she liked the most. The one that turned her one, had her collapsing at the knees if he played it right. A conversation with his mother last evening had caused him to question whether Kate would let him back in. He strongly believed she was half leading him on, but another part of him worried she really had decided she no longer wanted to be his girlfriend. She had phoned Martha when the ME truck had been hijacked to steal the body to let his family know he was safe. Why would she do that if she didn't care about him and his welfare? She acted out her dislike for him so well that sometimes he had her fooled.

A heavy inhalation of oxygen by Kate brought him back to the present, to watching Max Haverstock in the interrogation room. The man was a suit, rarely saw the sun he was that pale, wore glasses and had a balding head. Rick guessed he was in his mid to late forties. He poked about the interrogation room, explored the nooks in the wall. He also guessed that Kate had a good whiff of his cologne. He sensed she sneaked a glance in his direction. The urge to make a comment was almost too strong for him but he focussed on the man in the box. Fox in a box. Rick smirked.

Standing to everyone's right and closest to the door, Beckett cleared her throat, "Are you sure this is the guy?" She asked anyone who was listening.

Esposito, who stared through the one-way glass, replied, "Maxwell Haverstock. And he confirmed he knew the vic."

"This guy couldn't throw a wet sponge off a roof, let alone body," Rick remarked.

"Well, I guess we go poke around and see what he gives us." She glanced to Rick, silently indicating he was to follow. He stepped back, falling out of the line up, then followed her out of the viewing room. In the corridor, the detective abruptly turned about to face Rick as he pulled the door to. He stopped, surprised, and found himself barely inches from her staring down into large hazel eyes. Oh yeah, she was breathing in his scent. Her pupils were a little too large, her lips a little full.

She hissed, "This is only because I've been told we have to be partners."

Rick's eyebrows raised, and he gave her a quirky smirk, "Well guess what?" Her brow furrowed, and he continued, "I was told the same thing."

"What the-?"

"Who by?" They asked simulteneously.

"You first." Rick pushed.

She glanced up the hallway, "Captain."

"Same."

"He's played us." She said between gritted teeth.

"Seems so." Distracted, he softly leaned in closer to her and breathed in deeper. "Why Beckett. You're wearing my favourite perfume."

The lips pressed together and she got flustered, "Get in the Interrogation Room."

"Sure," he obliged, then paused and quietly said, "But Detective, we'll deal with this other stuff later." He opened the door for her ensuring she didn't have a second to respond without someone hearing her.

Beckett strode into the interrogation room as she said, "Mr. Haverstock?"

"Yes."

Rick closed the door and leaned against the wall, watching Beckett who was trying to quickly settle her emotions. The pressure was mounting on Kate to resolve their issues and was coming from multiple directions. Even Esposito had made a passing remark at Rick about Kate's moodiness brought on by their differences.

"Do you know why you're here?" She inquired with the suspect.

"No, they just told me I needed to come in." He was awkward when he turned about and stepped to the table.

Beckett sat at the table to the left of Rick, "It's about John Allen. He was murdered last night."

"That's terrible." He responded and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"You and he were friends." Beckett suggested.

"We had adjoining cubicles." He was unsettled, a little nervous.

"When was the last time you saw him?" She calmly asked.

"Oh," he took a moment to recollect, "Not since D-Day. That's what we called it. D for downsizing."

"You were let go?" She glanced to Rick.

"Yeah." Haverstock replied.

Beckett said, "I bet that made you pretty angry."

"Yeah, fifteen years we worked there together. You know, you'd think that would mean something. You'd think loyalty would be worth something. You know what it's worth? A kick in the teeth."

Beckett said, "Did you ever call and tell John that?"

"Oh yeah, all the time. Yeah, I told him we didn't deserve to be treated like that, but I promised him one day the world would turn, because karma is a nasty little bastard."

Beckett who was struggling to focus, said, "Is that why you killed him?"

"Who?"

Beckett clarified, "John."

"Why would I want to kill John?"

Beckett said, "For firing you."

"He didn't fire me. We were let go together on D-Day. Fortunately, I was able to find another job."

"He didn't have a job?"

"I guess he doesn't have to look for one anymore." Haverstock concluded.

Rick straightened up in his chair and looked at Kate, "I guess he's right."

"Thank you, Mr Haverstock. We'll be in contact if we need any further information."

Kate stood, Rick followed her out. Ryan and Esposito joined them on the other side and they headed to their desks.

Beckett sat opposite Rick at the diner, a strawberry shake in a metal cup half consumed on the table. She watched Rick down his second cheeseburger, eternally amazed at how he could virtually vacuum up food when they were on a time constraint. She had just finished a two minute phone conversation with Lanie a time she had been captivated by him. She was surprised she remembered what the doctor had updated her with.

With Rick's attention on food she caught time to look at him. He'd been to the Hamptons and got a bit of a tan and extra freckles. He also hadn't bothered to shave that morning. The sight of a day's growth of stubble sexually aroused her especially when she dwelled on what he did with that stubble. She uncrossed then recrossed he legs.

"What did she say?" Rick asked the moment after he swallowed.

She sat up, coming out of her day dream about whiskers, "Umm, well, they found Allen's body again."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Mm. Dumped in some alley. Lanie said someone operated on him."

"Operated? On a dead body?" The other eyebrow was up.

Kate shrugged her shoulders her mouth busy with the straw and consuming the shake. It was a nice one.

"She said he was cut open and they took all his organs out."

Castle smirked, "Somebody hated his guts."

"Really? You're going with that?" She asked suppressing a giggle.

"Yes. What else did she say?"

"That the guys who did it were not surgeons, that the cuts were sloppy. They probably used box cutters or kitchen knives."

"What the hell were they were looking for?"

"It gets better, Castle. Lanie said she ran a tox screen and found nothing in the vic's blood stream. But in the body cavity itself there were trace amounts of powdered cocaine."

Rick sat up as something hit him, "He was a drug mule."

Kate smiled, really smiled for the first time she had been in his company of late. She loved their bantering, the way she secretly enticed with little bits on information to a discovery, and she didn't try to suppress a show of her feelings. "Yes."

Castle smiled right back, but then sobered and said, "I don't buy it. How does a middle-aged insurance guy with no history of substance abuse, no criminal record-become a drug mule? This was not a bad guy. You don't just fill out an ad on Craig's List. You gotta know people. Bad people!"

"Well, we all know those," Kate replied, "We have to drop by the morgue on the way back to the Precinct."

"You tell me that after I down two burgers?"

"Seeing a dead body still disturbs your stomach?"

"Yeah and I haven't been around them lately."

"You'll be right, Castle. Just put a little of my cream under your nose." She pulled a little jar of Vicks from her pocket.

"You always carry that."

"Mmm. Like you do candy."

"Keeps you sweet," he replied and dived back into finishing his meal.

Kate sat back, stared at him for several seconds. "Maybe I need to be a bit sweeter," she replied.

"Don't change a thing. I like you the way you are. Every bit of you."

Her breath was caught in her throat when their eyes connected, his so blue, so beautiful. The urge to reach over the table to cup his jaw, kiss his lips was almost stronger than her. He licked his lips, she took all that in, recalling times he'd grinned up at her from between her thighs. She wanted that back.

"No." He said, "Don't change a thing. Now drink your shake. We have an appointment with your BFF."

"Please don't change either."

"As freaky as all this is, let's not forget it happened post-mortem." Lanie said as she unveiled the body laying prone on the slab. Rick instantly held his breath in anticipation his gut would somersault in response to the sight of the body on the slab. But it wasn't too bad.

Nevertheless, a little blue glass bottle of Vicks Vaporub appeared before him, the lid off, held by long slender fingers. He pushed a finger into the oily cream and swiped it beneath his nostrils, inhaled through his nose. There a sudden awakening of his respiratory system/

"Thanks."

"Mm." Kate responded noting that Lanie had washed the deceased and if it weren't for the missing parts the man looked like he was asleep.

"The actual cause of death is up here," Lanie pointed to victim's throat. "Bruise pattern indicates the assailant strangled him with both hands."

Castle and Beckett leaned in to study the bruising about the victim's neck and Rick said, "The bruising is a little lighter right there."

Beckett asked Lanie, "What would account for that?"

"Broken or dislocated finger, maybe." Lanie replied taking a closer inspection of the one shorter finger the bruising exhibited.

Castle glanced up to the girls, "Maybe he's fancy. Strangles people with his pinkie sticking out. Like tea." He held up his little finger, gave the girls an innocent stare.

Lanie rolled her eyes. Kate vacantly stared ahead. She inhaled deeply.

"Okay," Kate said, "It's time for us to leave."

"Hang on, Girl. Have you two sorted out your differences?"

"Almost."

"Working on it."

They answered simultaneously turning their gazes to each other.

"Good. I will see you two later." Lanie responded.

"I believe that's our cue to leave." Rick said, playfully looped his arm into Kate's arm and encouraged her to follow. She walked and when they reached the corridor she didn't pull away, so Rick didn't release her until they needed to open a door.

"We'll meet the guys back at the Precinct and see what we've all learned." Beckett said as they continued to the car.

"I'll text them on the way back," Rick replied.

Esposito lifted himself from a chair and stepped to the whiteboard, grabbing a red marker, "John Allen was coming back from Mexico, not New Mexico." He advised the group and wrote 'Mexico' beneath the dead man's name. A motor vehicle licence mug shot was of Allen was staring back at him.

Ryan said, "No criminal history, healthy, white middle class... They wouldn't have looked at him twice at customs."

"True." Esposito agreed, "The man had skills. Why would he do something so stupid?"

"Because, he had to. I went over financials with the wife." Ryan replied holding up a few sheets of paper.

"How bad?" Beckett asked.

"They've been living on credit cards the last six months. She had no idea. She thought everything was fine." He handed over the papers to Beckett who scanned the typed and hand written information. Castle peered over her shoulder which Kate didn't seem to mind. She actually leaned a little his way to let him read the data.

Beckett said, "Well Kev, if he wasn't going to work every day, where was he going?" She handed back the papers once Rick sat back.

"This is where Luthor Whitehead comes into the picture." Esposito said. "He owns the finger print on the inside of the glove that was found at the scene. Whitehead has been busted twice for possession of intent and once on conspiracy. Pled out on all three. Did a nickel up-State for a gun charge and is currently on parole for conspiracy to distribute."

"Have you established any relationship with our vic?" Beckett asked.

"According to the delightful Mr Whitehead, Allen had three quarters of a mill of coke in his stomach and he don't show up for the meet." Ryan explained. "Whitehead said they went looking for Allen. Walked up the block and guess what they saw?" He smirked, then waited as Beckett and Castle who glanced at each other both pulling faces. Suddenly Rick's eyes lit up.

"No way!" Rick burst out. "They saw a bunch of cops and writers staring at a tree? They saw us?" He grinned and sat forward in anticipation.

"They saw us." Ryan confirmed. "Then they had to make a quick plan to snatch the body to claim _their_ load."

"So," Beckett pondered half smiling at Rick's boyish enthusiasm, "Who on earth knew Luther and informed him that Allen would be a mule?"

"Arr, that was a guy named Ron Bigby vouched for John Allen. Got him the job as the mule." Esposito replied.

"Ron Bigby is a floor trader at Goldman." Castle commented, after which Esposito wrote the name of Bigby and his occupation beneath that.

Beckett said, "Mr Bigby obtained employment for Mr Allen as a drug mule-"

Rick continued, "Because Allen played and lost at the Poker table. Allen and Bigby were in floating games around town, small stakes, and a good way to blow off steam after work. But then when he got laid off it stopped being a game. He started betting to make up his pay check, but the stakes were too low, so he went to Chinatown, to the mob-run games. He lost more than he had to the wrong guy."

Beckett seemed to have brightened listening to Castle and she added as she turned to face the writer, "He couldn't make enough to cover his losses."

Rick turned in his seat angling himself closer to Beckett and he leaned in, his eyes wide and bright, "Yeah," he smiled, "Then Allen remembered the night Bigby told the story about his own fiscal emergency, about how he went to Mexico, made fifty grand in one day. That's when he figured, hey, what the hell, just pay it forward."

"Yuss!" Beckett gasped, "Bigby said Allen owed, and said John thought he was Russian Mafia because of all his tattoos."

Ryan cleared this throat disrupting their build-up of conversation and said, "If some tight-end Russian mobster was after me, I could see taking a job as a drug mule."

Esposito sighed, "And a tattooed Russian in New York City. Well, that narrows it down."

Beckett who, was seemingly conscious of the sudden healthy glow across her cheeks, reluctantly turned her attention to all the men rather than just the one. "Well, we need to conduct an investigation based on the information we have, not the evidence we need," she concluded.

Castle nodded his agreement, "Well, Bigby said the Russian hangs out at the club at Chinatown. Why don't we just go there?" He asked but maintained a visual on Kate, noting her lips had thickened, her cheeks were rosy. Casting his gaze to Esposito he saw that he had also noticed the arousal in the female detective. His brown eyes assessed Beckett's entire face before looked at Castle and said.

"The games are word-of-mouth, bro. They don't just share with cops."

Castle shrugged, "Well, luckily I'm not a cop."

"Castle." Beckett cautioned.

Castle said, "What? It's perfect. I go in, scope the place out until I ID the Russian."

Esposito contemplated it as he glanced to each member of the team, "Hey, you know, that's not a bad plan."

"Okay, yes not a bad idea, but we still have to find the game." Beckett said.

Castle replied, "Leave that to me. I have my own game to go to this evening." He checked the time, then Kate, "And on that point, I'd better head off to get the house ready."

"Executive hours." Esposito replied.

"Yeah." Castle replied, "But I'm not on the payroll."

"Bye, Castle." Ryan called after the writer as he headed towards the elevator. He tapped the top of Kate's monitor gaining her attention, "It's good to see you two getting along again, Beckett."

After Rick closed the door on his writer friends for the evening, he took his phone from a pocket and opened it. At almost 1.00 am he texted Beckett, asking her if she was awake. The door was then secured for the night and he went to the kitchen to clean up. The phone rang. He checked to see it was Beckett. Accepted the call.

"Burning the midnight oil, Detective?"

"Reading a good novel."

"The author?"

"Umm, the latest Michael Connelly."

"Seriously? He was here tonight, playing poker."

"Seriously?"

"Mmm. Sure was." He grabbed a handful of chips left in a bowl. "He lost a packet to Cannell."

"Stephen Cannell?"

"That's with a J. Stephen J Cannell."

"Okay. Did you find out anything?"

"Sure did. Cannell had the place. Tomorrow night. Nine pm."

"I will organise a team for tomorrow night." She fell silent. Rick waited for her to continue. Reward came when she meekly murmured, "Castle?"

"I'm right here."

"Mm. That's a pretty good story, Ricky."

"Mm? What is?"

"All those people who sit around your poker table, play cards in your company. The list is impressive."

"Friends. Just friends." He paused, gritted his teeth and decided to tell her the truth, "I would give anything for one of those individuals at the table to be you." He quietly said. "I would give them all up for you."

The conversation fell silent again. Rick heard her move something, her breaths.

"I have things to figure out." She timidly disclosed. "Give me time."

"You've had time. You can have time." It was clear by the tone in his voice he was impatient, "See you tomorrow."

"Night, Rick."

He disconnected the call, stared at the phone to see if she called back, but the screen went black and it was done.

In the stakeout van the following night Esposito fiddled with wires and devices inside Rick's dress shirt. The author was itching to get started on his under cover operation. Ryan was messing about with the receiver end of the equipment ensuring they had everything working fine.

"Speak Castle," Ryan requested as he slipped on head phones.

"One, two. One two. Testing, one, two." Rick said with a deeper than usual voice, a grin appearing when all three member of his team gave him a look. "What?" He asked.

"I was expecting "Major Tom to Ground Control."

"Arrr… showing your age Espo." Castle remarked.

Beckett who let the banter continue, peered out the van window down the alley way. She could smell Asian food and the alley was flooded with lighting, "You sure this is the place?"

Castle replied, "Cannell has never steered me wrong."

Esposito said, "Button cam's in place. Ryan?"

Ryan said, "Good for picture and sound."

Esposito said, "So remember, we can hear you, but you can't hear us. Once you leave this van, you're on your own, okay?"

Beckett said, "All right, tell me the plan again."

Castle said, "I go in, find the tattooed Russian, I get a clear picture of him, then I get the hell out of there."

Beckett said, "And you don't stay any longer then you need to."

Castle said, "I'll be fine. Besides, it's Chinatown, how many Russian poker players can there be?"

Esposito swung open the back door so Castle could exist. The threw him his suit jacket that he pulled on and straightened up so it was neat. He gave a grin then left.

Beckett looked out the window watching the writer walk into the alley, "Anybody else have a bad feeling about this?"

Esposito and Ryan raised their hands.

Beckett observed the hand raise, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Castle entered the Gambling Room and the camera showed the surveillance team a large room full of men and card tables. Castle whispered into his mic, "I'm in. Tattooed Russian. Uh, there's another tattooed Russian. There's a whole table of tattooed Russians. Apparently, there are a lot more tattooed Russians in Chinatown than I thought. So, the Russians are regulars here, but only a handful of them play at the table, which is where John Allen would have gone. Guy said they're card bullies. Raising the pots, forcing their opponents to bet more to stay in the game."

Ryan removed the head phones of his ears, "You think he has any idea that he's recapping a conversation we just heard in its entirety?"

Beckett shook her head as Esposito replied, "Give the guy a gadget and he thinks he's Bond."

"Let's just hope he remembers he's wearing a camera before he goes and takes a leak."

"Ryan," Esposito frowned, "Why would you even—"

"Trust me."

They turned their attention to their surveillance as Castle murmured into the mic, "See what kind of trouble I can stir up. I'll go sit at the table, see if I can find anything out."

Beckett's anxiety shot up, "What did he say?"

Ryan said, "He just said he's—"

Beckett glared at the monitor, and with sheer frustration said, "That's not the plan. That's not the plan, Castle!"

They watched as he sat down at a game table, "How's it going?"

"This is no limits table." A Russian said.

Castle replied, "Which is perfect, cause I am a no limit kind of guy. Change for twenty thousand, please."

This was killing Beckett, "Nononono, what's he doin'?"

Ryan replied, "Dropping nearly half my yearly salary like it's pocket change."

Castle said, "Nice tats. No, the tattoos, nice. What do they say?"

A guy in a track jacket across the other side of the table replied, "It says 'mind your own business and play cards."

Castle said, "All right, don't mean to pry. I'm just a writer. Doing a little bit of research."

A guy with a goatee asked, "Anything we might of heard of?"

They heard Castle say, "Um, Storm Fall, Storm's Last Stand."

The guy to Rick's right asked, "Derrick Storm?"

Castle replied, "Yeah."

The guy brightened, "I love this guy. Why did you kill?"

Castle said, "It's a long story, but I'm working on a new one about underground poker. It's hush hush. Just came down to get a feel for the world, you know.'

The guy with the goatee spoke up. "And you want it to be authentic."

"Exactly." Castle confirmed.

The man with the goatee answered, "No problem," then spoke in Russian to the other plays. They all laughed.

Esposito glanced to Ryan and Beckett, "Seems like he's making friends."

Beckett looked to Esposito, "They just said they're going to take him for everything he's got."

"What, you speak Russian?"

Beckett kept her eyes on the monitor, watching as the table commenced a new gave, "Semester in Kiev, between junior and senior year." She glanced at Esposito then said with a good Russian accent. Sometimes when I am bored I go to cafes in Little Odessa and pretend to be Moscovite."

Esposito fidgeted on his seat, "Now that's kinda hot."

On screen the game Rick had put himself in was well underway, and Rick was still in the game. He stretched his arms up, trying to get good shots of the suspects for his team who keenly watched on from the van.

"So, Mr. Castle, tell me a little more about this book." The man to Rick's right asked.

"Well, it's about this Russian mobster with a taste for cards. Yeah. Preys off desperation, luring people to betting more than they have."

"And why would he do this?"

Castle said, "Because he's also a loan shark. See, he fronts his victims and banks on..."

Beckett's brow furrowed, "What the hell's he doing?

Esposito said, "He's playing poker; he's trying to provoke one of these guys into giving up their hand.

Beckett said, "Or he's trying to tip off our killer.

Castle said, "...But this one guy, a family guy, he gets in a little too deep. Can't pay the loan back. So, the mobster's got no choice, has to kill him. Send a message to anyone else who owes him. So, one night he lures him into an abandoned building. Strangles him to death and throws him off the roof." He finished up. The three in the surveillance team were lured in with the story but studied the men at the table.

The guy directly opposite Rick, commented with a thick Russian accent, "Sounds like a lot of work. Why not just put bullet in his head? Much more civil. Bang." He laughed with Castle.

Esposito pointed at the monitor, "Hey Ryan, check this out, what is he doing with his finger?"

Beckett and Ryan leaned in close and she said, "Punch in on that. It's a prosthetic. That's why it didn't leave a mark on our vic. That's our guy."

Esposito said, "Hey, if he thinks Castle is a threat..."

Beckett replied, "We have to get him out of there. Now." She pulled of her head set, stood.

Esposito said, "Security is pretty well armed. We go in there as cops it could get messy."

Ryan said, "Whoa, what are you doing?"

Beckett said, "Uh, I'm going to go in there, and if I'm not out in ten minutes, you guys call for backup. Can I have my purse please?"

Esposito handed the purse to her as he said, "What are you going to do? Lip gloss them to death?"

Beckett thought about it, "Something like that."

She opened the back door of the van and jumped out. Inside a minute she was wrapped in a red knitted cardigan and stepping out of her work pants. She threw the pants in the back of the van and walked around to the side mirror to check her lipstick and hair which she ruffled up.

When Beckett arrived at the entrance, a back entrance going up a storey of steel stairs, she came across two bouncers at the base of the stairs. She was blocked by their bodies from going up the stairs.

"Ma'am." The bigger guy stated.

Beckett opted to put on the charm, and with a strong Russian accent and large docile eyes, she said, "Oh come on boys, my boyfriend is waiting, he's player. If I don't go inside he will lose." She assessed and didn't see much of a reaction so she upped it, stepping closer, "I'm his lucky charm, you know. No? Well, maybe I can be a lucky charm for you." She seductively said, "We win-and when I'm there we always win-then maybe I can share some of my boyfriend's luck with you."

The men looked to each other, then quietly stepped aside for her to pass them. As she climbed the stairs in her heels and with bare legs she was certain the men gazed after her. She didn't care. She needed to get Castle out of a risky situation that she had let him walk into.

Back at the table, Rick was grinning, having completely slipped his mind he was under cover.

"All in. It's a big pot Mr. Writer-Man." The guy in a blue shirt said, "All that money, whatever is money to millionaire, huh. You just gonna write it off on your taxes as doing research."

Castle said, "All in."

The Russian in blue, "Hum. You are like character in your book: in too deep. Three queens." The cards were dropped to the table for all the players to view his hand.

Castle said, "That's very impressive. Not a lot can beat three queens. Except an inside straight maybe. Sweetheart, this is for you. He drew in a pile of chips from the middle of the table. Would you change this into something a little smaller that I can carry. Now that is a big pile of money. What's money to a mobster, right?" He stood up and shook himself into his jacket.

Guy in white shirt came up behind Castle and sticks a gun at his back. "Walk."

Castle squawked, "Whoa, whoa,' and held up his hands. He walked into a kitchen.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

Castle said, "I told you, I'm a novelist."

"The story, the dead man, the roof, who told you? Who knows?"

Castle replied, "His family knows. His children know."

"If he paid what he owed, he'd be home with them now, but he crossed me and now you have crossed me."

Castle said, "No, no, I'm just a writer."

"Do not lie. You're a cop.

From behind them a woman with a Russian accent called, "Him a cop? Don't make me laugh, he's barely even a man."

Castle looked to his left, saw Beckett in a red cardigan and heels. Her legs were bare and he saw her bra, "Beckett?"

Beckett ignored Rick and concentrated on the Russian man, "But you are man, aren't you? Very handsome man. Richard, are you bothering this handsome man?"

The Russian yelled at Beckett, "Go away."

Beckett said, "Okay! Boys and their guns, am I supposed to be impressed?!"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Actually," Beckett said, "It does," and with that she snatched the gun from the Russian and incapacitated him.

Castle checked out the back of Beckett and asked in a hushed tone, "Is it just my imagination or did you change?"

Beckett closed the hand cuffs, "Castle, would you get some backup, please?"

Her impatient tone snapped Castle back to reality, "Yeah."

Without waiting to be asked, Rick fetched Beckett's clothing from the surveillance van. He found her work pants and top, his mind stuck on the fact she was wearing the red bra he'd bought her when they had celebrated their third month together. The clothing smelt of her, of her hygiene products and a whiff of that glorious scent had his body responding. His senses were already heightened from the earlier event. He took the clothes to her. She waited for him behind a police van and was being questioned by a couple of plain clothes police when he returned. Routine business that he waited for them to finish. She was cold and shaking. When she noticed him, she waved him over as she wound up the conversation with the police. She'd provided him with enough information.

"Please," she muttered as she reached for her pants. He stood close to her and waited as she stepped out of her heels to slip on her pants. "I'm so cold, Castle. Thank you."

"I can see that, Kate." He watched her struggle to button up her pants because her hands trembled so much. Rick glanced about to see who was around, then stepped to his right which would properly conceal her as she took off her cardigan to put on the top he handed her. He held the cardigan.

"Thanks for saving me," he said.

"Y… you… you would have talked your way out of it." She stuttered out and glanced to his eyes once her head popped through the neck of her top. She slipped her arms in the sleeves, pulled it down then snatched the cardigan off him. She shrugged it on quickly.

"We'll get you some hot food on the way back to the Precinct." He offered as he extracted himself out of his jacket.

"Hot coffee would be perfect."

"Hot chocolate?" He held out his jacket, she turned so he could wrap it around her shoulders. Glancing gratefully up to his eyes, she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"Thank you." She said as she stepped back into her heels. "Castle, I'm so cold. I should have gotten dressed after we arrested him."

"Probably. Come here," he invited and held out his arms for her to step in. He was warm. She keenly took up his offer and pushed herself into his tight embrace. He held her quietly until her body stopped trembling. She was the one who pulled away, looking up at his eyes momentarily.

"Kate," he softly said, wanting her to understand he longed for the rift between them to be gone.

She understood his silent communication by the softer expression she gave, pressed her lips together then said, "Let's get back to the Precinct. Can you drive please?"

"Sure." He took the keys she held out then followed her back to the Crown.

"Remember the first time we made love?" Kate asked, after she turned the dial up on the heating. She picked a plastic bag from the pocket of Rick's coat and studied it.

Rick glanced at her, unsure where she was doing, but he saw she had found his packet of English lollies that she unrolled. "Best night of my life and I will never forget it," he replied. He put the indicator on and when the road was clear, he pulled out into the traffic,

"Me neither." She swiped the vents so they faced her and turned the fan up. The bag was shaken, "What are these?"

He scanned the bag, and read out, "Maynards Wine Pastilles. We'll swing by the burger joint we like?"

'Mm. You went to the candy store."

"I did. I bought you more Pineapples."

"I received the box of Australian candy. Thank you."

Rick chuckled, "The guy at the shop thought I was crazy."

"No need to buy any for a while."

"It's the same day I found this bag of English sweets."

"English lollies," she whispered using an English accent, as she stole a sweet from the bag. As usual the candy was thoroughly inspected before she popped it in her mouth, a habit Castle secretly adored about her. A bit of a smile crept in and she mumbled, "Delicious."

"Better than the Allens ones," he commented.

"Maybe." She rifled through the bag again.

"Why did you mention that night?" He asked as he accepted a sweet she held out for him.

"Because right now, well lately, I've experienced similar things to those moments when you carried me to my bedroom. More excited and terrified than ever."

"Oh." He glanced at her, saw the large eyes, paled cheeks. She really needed fuel and a few sweets wasn't going to do the job. He recalled the night of their first date, that she had been scared out of her mind in the minutes preceding their first act of intercourse. He'd nearly stopped, but instead, he'd put the brakes on their progress and had taken her back to the beginning which had settled her nerves. Not long after they'd gone crazy.

Rick drove on. He calculated it was about an eight minute drive to the Precinct and four minutes at tops to the drive thru he was headed towards. He needed this conversation to go somewhere positive in four minutes.

"Why do you feel like that? Everything's okay." He lied. It wasn't okay at all.

She breathed slowly, bit her lip, then spilled out, "Because it's not okay and right now I cannot change what I've been thinking and feeling. I was really scared our first night together, because I hardly knew you. That was real and easy to understand. This, is confusing but I feel the same as that night."

Rick waited for her to continue but when she didn't he filled the air, "You were shaking. I knew you wanted to be with me, but I was aware you were bloody afraid. I remember I put you down …"

"You sat me on the bed, you stepped away and put space between us to let me breathe. You took your time taking off your clothes until you were naked, exposed to me first." She looked ahead. "You gave me the time to process it all."

"I didn't want to terrify you."

"La Dolce Vita," she said.

"The sweetness of doing nothing," Rick loosely translated. She was sending him a message in a subtle way. In Kate's way. He nodded, thought about it. "Okay."

She inhaled deeply and seemed to relax now he apparently understood, then turned the heating down. "I can't wait to eat, Rick."

"Not long," he quietly said, more preoccupied with analysing her subtext. "So, what you are telling me is my plan to gift you with flowers and teddies only served to put fear in you, suffocated you, at a time when you were pissed off at me. You needed space to think it out, perhaps lick the wounds I reopened on you. Any other time you would have embraced my gifts. Am I understanding you?"

"Mm. As my Dad said the other night, I needed time for the dumb nineteen year old to sort it out.'

"So, in order for the dumb nineteen year old to rule the roost for a while, you pushed me away and kept me where you wanted me." He appreciated she cherished her space and she protected her privacy more than any other person he knew but he struggled to accept what she was saying. "That's not fair and you know that."

"Rick, you instinctively respected that I was afraid the first night we were intimate but in my opinion, you ruthlessly disrespected my privacy even if it did come out with a good result."

"Well, from now on I will ensure you know everything," he replied, "But Kate, in return, I don't want you doing what you've done with ignoring me."

"I-"

"And the text you sent me?" He had less than a minute to get out what he wanted her to know.

"Text?"

"The Hey text? After all the effort I made to work things out with you, a text that says Hey? Not cool, Kate. We resolve our disagreements by talking it out even as work partners," he stated with enough punch that Kate didn't move, didn't respond.

He indicated he was about to have the car make a turn, ensured he had clearance then drove into the drive thru burger place they liked. He braked the car to a stop at the order console.

"The usual?" He asked Kate.

"Please. What you get."

He ordered enough food to feed them and the guys. As he drove to the window to pay he said, "When I finally received a text from you, and then saw what you wrote, the lack of, it hurt."

Their eyes met as he braked the car.

A teenager in the window greeted him which distracted Rick. He placed the vehicle into park, then felt his pockets going so far as to lift his ass off the seat to tap the back pockets of his jeans. He searched the console then it occurred to him. "You have my wallet in the right pocket, Honey." He grimaced, realising his mistake of calling her a pet name. "Damn," he hissed.

She quickly found it. "My purse is still in the surveillance van."

"Text the boys. Make sure they collect it." He handed her his phone then flipped open the wallet. "Let them know I've picked up dinner."

"Sure."

A quarter hour later they were at the Precinct in the breakout room. Esposito and Ryan dined with them on burgers, fries and drinks. Discussion circled on the events at the Russian poker game. Everyone had a good laugh over Kate's Russian performance. They ate while they waited for the uniforms to process the arrested before they would need to do their paperwork.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Rick stayed with Kate for the phone call to the victim's wife to give her the news that they had found the murderer, that he was under arrest and had been charged and retained without bail. The conversation was short, but Kate as always, was compassionate and explained what would happen going forward.

She hung up the call then sat back in her seat.

"So, how is she?" Rick asked, relaxing in his old chair. He had his jacket back on and was happy to see Kate was comfortable and warm again. Since their brief but meaningful discussion in the car she was conversing with him without sounding pissed off.

Kate looked at him, at the desk top, "It's hard, when everything you thought you knew turns out to be a lie."

"Well, not everything was a lie. Not her husband's love. I mean, sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reasons," Rick replied, hoping she would pick up on his subtext.

Kate thought about his comment for a couple of seconds then said, "So case is closed, I guess your Cosmo story gets a happy ending."

"Speaking of happy endings, thanks for saving my life."

"Oh, I was just trying to avoid the paperwork," she teased.

"Ahh, of course," Rick smiled with a nod of his head, "We make a pretty good team, you know. Like Starsky and Hutch. Tango and Cash. Turner and Hooch."

"You know, now that you mention it, you do remind me a little of Hooch," she said poker faced.

"Mm," he responded in amusement, paused, then said, "It's because you're afraid, isn't it? You're afraid if you look into your mother's death, that you will go back down that rabbit hole and lose yourself again. But it's different this time, Kate. We have good leads. We have strong leads. And you won't have to do it alone. We can do it together." He calmly insisted and immediately saw a rise in frustration.

"What if I don't want to know? Did you ever think of that? What if I'm not ready? What if the idea of catching my mom's murderer and then having to sit there and watch as he cuts some deal that puts him back on the street in ten years makes me nauseous? You dredged up my past for you, Castle. Not for me. And you're too selfish to even see it. The case is closed, Castle. We made a deal and I expect you to honour it," she said sternly and stared at him for a long while. Then she sat up, she dismissed him and returned to do her work.

For several moments, Rick tried to think of something to say to bring her back, but then he got up and walked to the elevator. He was disappointed in how events had rolled out, that Kate was so sensitive to his actions and communications.

Outside the Precinct he stood deciding how he would travel home. He wanted air, wanted some time to think about things. He walked with purpose towards home, aware it was a long walk but he needed it. Earlier in the evening she'd taken them back to their first night together. He'd been stunned into immobility when he'd sensed how afraid she was to sleep with him. Working with her on their first case she'd presented as a woman who was tough, perhaps a little bossy and independent. She was all that indeed, but then there was this other side of her, the fragile side, the woman who loved to be held in bed at night, who cuddled up to him on the sofa, who hid behind his shoulders when she was vulnerable, who cried at things she saw on TV. What was she doing sleeping alone, without him laying with her?

His phone began to ring out in his pocket. He grabbed it out to see his daughter was calling. He accepted the call.

"Hey, Honey."

"Dad? Where are you?"

"On my way home. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just checking in. Have you eaten?"

"Of course, its late. Ate with the boys."

"Can I temp you with a jaffle?"

"Just one, Sweetie. I'll be there in ten."

"I'll see you soon, Dad."

"Okay." Rick hung up as he turned about and waved for a taxi. It was enough with the analysing and trying to figure out Beckett. He had a daughter who sounded like she wanted to talk. She was his priority. He climbed in the cab and provided directions to the driver to take him to the corner of his apartment block.

"Dad?" Alexis called from the stairs.

"I'm in here, baby girl."

She came into the office, saw he was at his laptop. "You're writing. What a surprise."

"It's time," he replied.

"And Beckett?" She cautiously asked.

Rick shook his head aware Alexis knew he was very fond of working at the Precinct with his team.

"Can she do that, stop you? I thought it was an agreement between you and the 1PP."

"If Beckett doesn't want me there, I won't push it." He frowned, overall disappointed in the way events had rolled out.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

He dismissed his woes, noticing his daughter seemed a little disappointed. "So, how was the movie?" He inquired while pretending to be nonchalant about not resolving things with Beckett. His daughter had enough going on without his issues. He shut his computer lid down when he saw the disappointment over his daughter's face.

"We didn't go."

"Why not?" He was concerned because she had been looking forward to the evening.

"Owen."

"What happened?"

"He was playing video games and lost track of time. By the time he showed up, it was too late." She shrugged her shoulders implying she didn't care but it was all over her she was disappointed.

"Sorry, Sweetheart."

"And then, when he did show up, he tried to act like it was no big deal. Like I'm overreacting. I mean, he didn't even call." She paused a moment, looking over him and he thought about how intellectual his daughter was, how sensitive. Just like the woman he loved. She overreacted on things he thought were minor, but to Kate they were enormous problems.

"Why do boys do that? Why do they always have to justify everything? Why can't they just say they're sorry?" She asked, looking to her father for an answer.

Rick attempted to answer, but his brain came up with nothing. He didn't have anything, and even if he did, it would be another excuse on behalf of his sex. Then a thought hit him like a lightning strike. He shot up out of his chair, excited. He rushed around the table to hug his daughter, "Thank you." He held her by the upper arms and kissed her forehead. "I've gotta go, Honey. Owen will figure it out and when he does, listen and accept." He gave her a light squeeze.

"Beckett?" She asked a little bewildered.

"Yes. I've got one more shot at this." He replied, "And I have to do it."

Fifteen or something minutes later, Rick walked out of the elevator at the 12th Precinct, noting most of the cops had gone home. The further he stepped, he saw that the one cop he really wanted to see, was still seated at her desk finishing reports. If she completed them tonight he knew she would have two or three days off duty. He walked to her desk and stopped by his chair.

Beckett momentarily raised her eyes up at the movement and saw him, obviously a little surprised he was back.

He had her attention for now so he began to speak, trusting himself to say the write words, "I'm sorry. What I did was wrong. I violated your trust. I opened old wounds and I did not respect your wishes. And if we're not going to see each other again, then you deserve to know, I'm very, very sorry." He was finished. He turned and began to walk in the direction he had just come from.

From her seat, Kate stared at Castle as he walked away, suddenly in a panic because he had finally apologised for the right reason and he was leaving.

"Castle?" She called and waited for him to turn about. She said, without showing any feelings, "I'll see you tomorrow." Her eyes returned to her notes.

Rick stared at her for too long. With such simplicity, she had let him back to be her partner. He had another chance to be with her. He resumed his departure from the Precinct to go home to bed feeling reassured that tomorrow would be a better day.

It was well after midnight when Kate rode the elevator to the top floor, her mind vacant of any thoughts other than the taste she had in her mouth, that was busy sucking on a red lollypop she was almost done with. When the doors opened, she stepped out onto the penthouse floor. Before she embarked on a rather significant moment, she wrapped the lollypop back in the plastic wrapper, slipped it into the side pocket of her bag then checked herself in the hall mirror. She applied pale pink lipstick, amused at how red her tongue was. The nerves spiked when she stopped at a familiar brown door she hadn't entered in a while. No one in her life had caused her to feel the emotions she experienced when it came to this guy. Using her personal phone, she sent a text message.

 _I'm at your front door._

She waited. There was a sudden thump inside the apartment. Her eyes widened in partial amusement.

 _You're kidding me._

Came straight back.

 _Not kidding._

She knocked lightly on the wood to prove a point.

Waiting, she peered down at her body feeling very afraid he wouldn't want to be with her anymore. Shortly after his brief appearance at the Precinct, she'd retreated directly home to seeking sanctuary. During a long shower she'd thought about everything, how much she'd given up to be such an immature and stubborn bitch. She was the one who had missed out on having fun with Rick. Staring at the door she reflected she'd absently dressed into yoga pants while contemplating whether it was too late to go and try to make amends. Here she was standing at his doorway, with butterflies fluttering in her tummy. She felt nauseas. She wanted this minute over. Whatever he served her, she deserved it. This was her, finally willing to step up and be the woman she was nowadays rather than the frightened teenager who had tragically lost her Mother and been left to take care of a father who had hit the bottle big time. It wasn't appropriate to let that teenager take over again.

Soft footfalls sounded on the other side of the door. The lock was fiddled with. The door swung open.

She shyly looked up to Rick's face. His smile changed to a perfect grin.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi." It was a timid response.

He waved his right hand in front of his mouth, "Your tongue is all red."

"Lollipop."

"Arr. I have more of those inside," he paused, sobered then stated, "You said tomorrow."

"It is tomorrow." She dropped her phone into her bag, wishing he would ask her inside.

"Technically, yes it is." His eyes scanned her from head to toe, "Kate?"

It was a tone that demanded her full attention and in return she looked right at him, "Mm?"

"Are we past the problem?" He asked, maintaining his stance in the doorway, obviously reluctant to let her in.

Kate accepted that Rick had every right to be a bastard, even if she had to suffer it for a while. However, as always, he remained the polite, gentle man she'd come so familiar with.

"Rick, I've come to terms with the fact that your intentions, when you investigated my mom's murder were genuine, that you wanted to help me. You apologised with a thousand flowers and ten teddies, but I only needed you to acknowledge how it hurt me, and that you have done." She felt awkward, ashamed for having taken so long to break the silence between them, "I'm not that good at relationships, Castle, but I shouldn't have let this drag out for so long. I should have made an effort to talk with you earlier and I apologise for that."

"I only wanted-" he stopped himself because he'd already explained himself and it was no longer about his actions. "I'm not that good either."

"Castle? I can't get obsessed," she told him hearing a tone in her voice that demonstrated she was fearful she would.

"I won't let you, Kate."

"We have to do it together. You apply brakes when I'm out of control."

"Deal." He reached out to her bag, clutched it by the strap and extracted from her shoulder. "It's hard to have a serious conversation with your mouth all red."

Initially she smiled cautiously and it broadened when she saw him let go of her bag to the floor inside the loft.

He grinned, and opened his arms, "C'mere." It was softly requested.

Kate leapt to him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs around his body and he cupped her buttocks in support.

"God, Baby, I've missed you so much." He kicked the door shut, locked it and carried Kate towards the bedroom.

"Me too. So much."

"What you wearing underneath your yoga clothing?"

Instantly Kate pulled back grabbing his shoulders to hold herself up. She glared at him. "Seriously?"

"No." He laughed. "I did it to get a raise out of you. It worked." His step faltered when Kate suddenly leaned in and kissed him hard clutched his head. He emitted a contented moan, his tone full of want. He stopped to steady himself, responding to her advances equally as keen.

They lay together in the bed, Rick on his back, Kate's long lean body down the length of his, her head on his right shoulder. They were quiet, having just settled into the most comfortable position they had as a pair. For several minutes he combed his fingers through her hair, soaking in the realism she was back, that she was with him. He wanted to be the man who made her happy.

It didn't take long for Kate to doze off, her palm resting over his heart. Once he was certain she was asleep, he relaxed, happy he had her back and could keep her safe. He too fell to sleep.

Rick's eyes opened wide the second Kate's hand strongly pushed against his ribs. She whimpered several words he didn't understand. Cop dreams. Her fingers clutched at his t-shirt, let go, slid over his chest. The dream quietened for a minute or so.

She woke with a cry and her body jumped. "Rick?"

"It's okay." He whispered into the darkness. "You're safe," he reminded.

"Mm."

He half rotated on to his side towards Kate to embrace her and drew her in closer. His forehead pressed to hers. She breathed shallow and he sensed she was upset.

"Babe." She barely whispered. "I missed you."

"Every second?"

"Mm."

"I got in there," he whispered, then pressed his lips to her forehead. In the darkness, his eyes closed, he was fully focused on the other person with him. Her breathing was shallow, her body trembled and her shoulder rotated back a little when he touched her body over her heart. "Baby." He exhaled.

"Castle." Her tone was tired, weak.

"Broke the surface didn't I." He completely closed in the space between them, "I got inside your heart and it scared the shit out of you."

She gave a whimper in response, her fingers finding the side of his face.

"You were gonna say something to me that night-" He paused, "You were on top of me, in bed. You started-"

"Mm." She nodded just the once.

"You stopped."

She shook her head.

"You …don't need … to tell me .." he whispered lightly kissing her face.

"Just words."

"Shhh….You show me how you feel, Honey."

For several seconds she breathed, held his head, "I do?"

"Mm."

She brushed her lips against his cheek. "Are you scared?"

He smiled, hearing hesitation and felt her fingers touch his smile, follow the outline of his lips. She made a squeak of contentment.

"About?" He asked.

"Us."

"About loving you?" He asked curiously

"Mm."

"That doesn't scare me." He paused, allowed himself to accept the emotions he'd experienced when they'd been apart, "You not being in my life scares me."

She released a whimpered cry. "You still wanna be with me?"

"Oh yeah."

The caresses ceased, her fingers stilled and her lips came off his skin. "With me." She breathed deeper.

"Since the moment I laid eyes on you." He took a long deep breath, "Don't be scared."

"I'm not." She pressed her lips to his, "Castle?"

"Mm?"  
"Help me sleep."

"C'mere." He opened his arm as Kate did a 180 degree turn then wriggled up against him into a tight spooning position her head resting on his right arm. He then pulled up the bed sheet and wrapped his arm around her. She relaxed, her fingers entwined in his.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

Rick buried his face in her hair, held her firmly and thought about the nights he'd spent alone imagining she was with him.

"I missed you," she repeated. "I missed this."

"Me too. We'll be okay, Kate."

"We'll be okay," she echoed.

It was late when Rick woke up and it was only because his arm was in pain from being in the same position for a long time. He opened his eyes to a mass of dark hair, hair that smelt so good it caused him to smile. She had really come back to him. She was asleep, deep asleep. Their night had been disturbed by dreams until about 5.00 am when she had begun to sleep soundly. He pushed himself up to a sit and without arousing Kate he got himself out of the bed and went to the bathroom.

When he came from the en suite a while later fresh out of the shower he peered down at Beckett who was curled up on her side dead centre in the bed. He dressed.

The daughter was in the kitchen cooking breakfast and brewing coffee. He put his hands to her upper arms and kissed her hair. "Good morning."

"Morning, Dad.' She smiled, when he wrapped her in his embrace for a hug. "You seem happy this morning."

"Because I am." He let her go. "What you cooking?"

"Just oats. Want some?"

"Arrh, no thanks. I will start with the coffee." He grabbed a couple of mugs.

"How did things go last night?" She quietly asked, her eyes glancing to the front door. Rick's gaze followed and he saw the bag on the floor.

"Oh yeah. Kate dropped by last night."

"She's still here?"

He nodded, "She's asleep. She came off a double shift."

"Did she apologise?"

Rick frowned, rubbed the back of his neck, aware of where this was going as far as Alexis was concerned. "It's not about that, Alexis. We've talked a few times and we've sorted it out."

"She's –" Alexis stopped speaking the second she noticed her father's expression. She resumed preparation of their breakfast. "Dad, is it okay if I meet friends for the day?"

"So long as you have fun and be home before the street lights come on." He smiled, took a first sip of coffee and paused to savour its qualities on his taste buds. "Flavour country."

They ate at the kitchen counter, their conversation mainly about his experience with the Russian poker game and what Beckett had done when she had saved his ass. Because she had cooked Castle let his daughter go to get herself ready for the day. He cleaned up their breakfast dishes, then decided to remove Kate's bag from the door way before his mother sighted it. The bag was left at the end of the bed. A quick check on Kate showed him she was in exactly the same position he'd last seen her in so he continued through to the study to do some writing.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

A portion of this chapter was written for Mr G Snow who is an SK fan, and who happened to share a moment that had him remember his late mother.

" _So long as you have fun and be home before the street lights come on." He smiled, took a first sip of coffee and paused to savour its qualities on his taste buds. "Flavour country."_

 _They ate at the kitchen counter, their conversation mainly about his experience with the Russian poker game and what Beckett had done when she had saved his ass. Because she had cooked Castle let his daughter go to get herself ready for the day. He cleaned up their breakfast dishes, then decided to remove Kate's bag from the door way before his mother sighted it. The bag was left at the end of the bed. A quick check on Kate showed him she was in exactly the same position he'd last seen her in so he continued through to the study to do some writing._

"Hey."

"Well, hello. Sleeping beauty awakens." Rick hit save and sat back in his chair as Kate approached him. She smiled at his comment, laughed a little. A softness in her tone didn't go unnoticed, aroused his senses, brightened his mood. He cast his eyes down her bare legs. The muscles were toned, probably because she'd spent time running during their separation. She wore his dress shirt he'd worn yesterday, and her hair was ruffled from sleep. His arms opened to accept her on his lap.

She reached to his shoulders as she sat upon his thighs. He embraced her, and she snuggled in. "Hello," she whispered, kissed his cheek.

"Hello."

"You smell like heaven, Rick," she whispered, snuggling against his head.

"You're all warm," he commented.

"Mmm." She gave him a kiss, placing her hand to his jaw, "I slept in really late."

He glanced at his watch. "It's lunch time." His palm rested to her knee then ran up her leg to her hip. "You must have needed it."

"Haven't slept much lately so it was good to get some sleep."

He raised an eyebrow, betting with himself she hadn't been sleeping while they had been apart. It wasn't something he'd done a lot of during their break up either, but last night he'd slept well.

"What you writing?"

"Working on my first Nikki Heat."

"Oh." She pressed her face against his neck, and softly seductively inquired, "When can I read it, Baby?"

"You can read it," He murmured, "When I give you the first print." He let his hand slowly sneak its way to her inner thigh. The urge to have her was almost stronger than him but he needed to wait for them to settle back into their relationship.

"Please." She pleaded.

"Later. Let's go do something."

"Stay here." She suggested in hushed tones, fingers combing through his hair. "Just be us." Long legs folded up so her feet were on the arms of the chair, her weight against his chest.

"In that case, why don't we stay at your place," he suggested, his hand resting on her knee. "No red heads, we can do what we want for a couple of days."

"Bring your laptop –"

"So you can read my manuscript?"

She laughed. "Mm."

"We stop for lunch on the way."

"We could visit that special shop." She said with a giggle, grinning mischievously.

He chuckled, "You wouldn't believe the amount of porn I watched when you weren't here with me."

"I watched our videos." She bashfully confessed.

"Our videos.." Rick repeated. "They are good."

Kate started a gentle path of kisses along his jaw, liking that he turned his head to kiss her lips as she progressed. She cupped his head, tenderly kissing him.

Her stomach rumbled with hunger which caused them to break. Both peered down at her tummy.

"Go get dressed. I'm hungry too."

It was rather confronting the moment Rick stepped inside Kate's bedroom. As usual, the generously sized room was reasonably tidy, the bed was made, and the furniture was lightly littered with her accessories and he was delighted to inhale the air that carried with it Kate's intoxicating scent. He loved her bed room. However, the sight of a collection teddy bears sitting on the bed, staring at him stopped him in his tracks.

"Fucking hell, Kate." The bears were all arranged by their size, the largest bear propped up against the bed head in the middle the smaller positioned to each side.

"What?" She asked, her foot falls sounding on the floorboards.

He felt fingers at his back as she peered around his left shoulder, emitting a little giggle.

"Oh, yeah, Babe," she softly emitted, "Allow me to introduce you to our off spring," she invited.

He coughed, "Offspring?"

"The products of our fight perhaps?"

"That sounds better." He assessed the collection of teddy bears, suddenly conscious of why Kate had been a little upset at him about his gifts.

"Overwhelming?" She suspiciously asked.

"I see your point."

"And the flowers that turned my home into a florist shop have mostly died."

"You came home to this …"

"And the flowers…" she reminded.

"Every day."

"Yep."

"Mm." He playfully caught her hands in his as they sneaked around his waist, and held on to them. She hugged him from behind. "They are cute," he slipped in cheekily.

She laughed, "Yes, but what are we gonna do with them, especially the big fella?"

Rick grinned, "He's a ripper, right?"

"Yep. He's big."

"Yeah, I saw him in the teddy bear shop. I decided he was my last shot at getting you back."

"I slept against him for a couple of nights," she shyly confessed.

"Uh huh. I'm pleasantly surprised you shared."

"Yeah but I did. You told me I don't talk..,"

"Thank you," he paused, took a breath, "I bet he has my scent on him from when I carried him here." He confidently said.

"Carried him?"

"Walked him the entire way." He had a chuckle noting she chose to respond to that, "You wouldn't believe how many women made comments, wanted to give me their number."

"Castle." She squeezed him, pressed her lips to the back of his shoulder.

"So, he smelt of me," he softly pushed. "Divine."

"Not. But, yes, he did smell of your cologne, you," she admitted, then patted his tummy, "But what we gonna do with him?"

"Put him and his mates in storage until we have babies of our own," he answered without hesitation and reclaimed her hand so she couldn't escape.

"Babies?" She squeaked. She coughed.

He laughed at her tone, her reaction. "Do I need to have that talk with you?"

"I know what babies are," she replied, "And I know how to make one."

It was followed with a grunt of pure approval, "You most certainly do, Miss Beckett. Very good at it in fact."

A cute squeak and a little wriggle came from her before she replied, "I know. But thank you."

He smirked, "You're welcome."

"Now, let's not jump too far ahead, and deal with this offspring," she suggested.

Rick waited as he gave some thought about a solution. "I have a storage garage…"

"I could take them to my Dad's. I have things out there that I'm storing for the future."

It was a must to look over his shoulder at her face, and a surprise to see how calm she was about the conversation when he had in the past minute or so, expected the swift arrival of a mini panic attack. Their conversation was pushing the boundaries of their relationship, but here she was perfectly relaxed. Yesterday, he'd thought they were over and today they were suggesting babies were possibly a part of their future.

"Okay. We'll store it with your stuff," he agreed.

"Dad's expecting me to visit. Wanna do it today?"

"Sure, Baby. Let's rock and roll with the bears."

What was funnier, Rick couldn't decide. The sight of Kate or the teddies. But he didn't care because everything was okay. He had the collection of bears stuffed tightly into the back of the Ferrari, the roof off and a girlfriend who had spent the better part of the trip laughing her ass off about it. Her smile was breathtakingly beautiful, her hair was blowing widely about in the wind and her head was spinning between looking out the front, around them, and back at the soft toys. She fondly observed other people or children who saw the soft toys.

He couldn't help but laugh in amusement at her, particularly after the conversation they had at her place about what to do with the damn things. It was refreshing to see someone who was serious most of the time, drop her guard and just be herself.

He pulled the car into her father's driveway stopping behind a dark grey sedan.

"Daddy!" She called when she sighted her father come from the front door.

"Daddy?" Rick echoed teasingly, so only Kate heard, at which second she shot him a look. Her father smiled and waved.

"You have a daughter. You understand how it makes him feel."

"I know. Fires up that buzz only a daughter can fuel." He nodded in the direction of Jim who approached.

She got out the car, closed the door and went to her father, greeting him with a big generous hug.

"Katie, good to see you happy." Jim said setting Kate back so he could see her. "You look happy. You have him back."

Kate glanced over her left shoulder to ensure Rick was on his way to them, "I do. I stopped being …"

"You." Jim finished, then reached his hand out to Rick's for a hand shake.

"Good to see you, Rick."

"Same, Jim."

"You brought along some friends?" He pointed at the toys.

"Kate wanted to bring our offspring over to meet you." Rick seriously replied.

"I was thinking you two were going for a picnic." Jim smirked. Rick laughed. "Where did they all come from?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "Long story, Dad."

"And a lot of money." Rick added.

"Oh, this, these toys, evidently have something to do with you two breaking up. About time, Kate." He half scorned his daughter.

"Dad," she groaned. "Yes, we're back together and we want to store the collection of bears with my other stuff-"

"Until we have kids running about." Rick added and playfully dropped his arm around Kate's shoulders and drew her in close.

Jim stared at Rick for several seconds, then focused on his daughter, seemingly unable to process what his ears had just sent to his brain. The writer was playing with Kate, teasing her, and it was something Jim wasn't familiar with seeing his daughter respond to in a long time. He was however stuck with the bit about having kids.

"Kids?"

"Dad," Kate warned, "Don't listen to Castle. He's spinning bull shit."

"No, Sir. No. I'm not. She said it at her place." Rick defended, glancing between father and daughter.

Kate ducked out of Rick's hold and reached out to the giant bear she tackled out of the car, requiring a little assistance from the writer. She managed it into her arms so she was hugging it about its middle.

"Its huge." Jim commented, amused by its size. "Big as you."

"Weighs as much," Rick replied.

"So, you want to store it with the rest of your things until a baby comes along." Jim commented leading the way inside the house.

"Dad." Kate scorned.

Jim smiled at his daughter's reaction, "Makes sense, Honey. If your kids are anything like you were, they will love it."

"Good to know." Rick commented with a smile and took the bear from Kate because she was struggling to keep it from dragging on the ground.

"So they live here until kids." Jim confirmed thoroughly enjoying the sight of a rosy glow in his daughter's cheeks. It amused him no end.

"Yes." Kate replied, "And we have storage bags to put them in."

"Alright. Are you having a coffee or just dropping off the kids, I mean teddies."

"Dad," she whined.

"I would love a coffee, Jim." Rick keenly replied as he and the bear squeezed through the doorway.

"Sounds good. I'll put the coffee on."

"You have a lot of stuff, Honey." Rick poked about in the walk in robe that Jim's father had generously allowed his daughter to use to store things.

"This is culled," she replied, "When Dad moved out of our home, I had to downsize my childhood things."

"That's a shame." Against a single wall were plastic storage boxes piled up neatly in rows and clearly marked with their contents with marker in Kate's neat hand writing. Books, clothing, miscellaneous. Yep, exactly the same sort of stuff he had stored away.

"What's in there?" He asked, following her to a cupboard at the end of the room.

"My Mom's clothes. I want use something." She slid along four or five jacket bags until she selected the one she wanted. She lifted it out. "Can you hold it up for me, please?"

"Sure." Rick held up the hook as Kate unzipped the bag. A smile appeared when she reached inside.

"Pretty as I remember," she murmured and brought out a cream wool coat with fur lined collar. "This was my mother's coat. She bought it the winter she died. I've never used it."

"You want to take it home?" He felt the fabric. "Cashmere."

"Mm. I will use it …"

"I would like to see it on you, Kate.." The short summer dress she wore was not something she would generally wear the coat over.

"Sure."

He took the coat from her and held it open.

She slipped her bare arms into the sleeves, shook her shoulders into it and turned about to face the boyfriend, who had been a respectable critic. Usually, he had good fashion advice.

"Luckily I'm the same size my mother was. I wear her evening dresses. She had good taste."

She turned a couple of circles to show Rick the coat and he smiled.

"It suits you and it's a classic cut." Rick had scanned the photographs of Kate as a teenager with her mother when they had walked through the house and up the stairs. She was the image of her late mother.

"It has pockets." She said as her hands dug into each pocket." She paused, her expression changed and she extracted her right hand. She looked at Rick, "Oh God."

"What is it?" He discarded the cloak cover on a box and stepped closer to Kate. She lifted her hand and turned it over, revealing a handful of Hershey's kisses. He glanced between her hand and eyes, unsure what was happening in her mind, "Candy?"

"Must have been my Mom's. They were her favourites." A little flustered by the shock of the find, Kate buried the candy back in the pocket but simultaneously brought her left hand out, her expression changing to curiosity. Hanging from her middle finger was a gold ring. She brought it up, studied it.

Rick waited in anticipation.

"My ring!" She exclaimed.

"Your ring?"

"Oh my God. I've found it."

"You found it?" He leaned in. The diamond ring was perfectly shined, appeared brand new.

"She had it fixed." She murmured. "She must have fixed it. I thought I lost it." She burst into tears.

"Kate?"

Rick patiently waited for Kate to settle down, watched her push the ring up her middle finger until it was in its rightful place.

"Tell me about it," he requested.

"I broke it. Mom must have taken it to be repaired but never said anything. A while after Mom died, I noticed it missing. I searched every place for it…"

"Well, not every place." He said, with a bashful expression and reached out to push a rogue strand of hair from her eyes. "She must have wanted to surprise you."

"I thought I had just lost it somewhere. I broke the claws, the diamond fell out-" She wiped her eyes then brought out a piece of candy, preserved in its wrapper. "I haven't had this out."

"Kate-"

She put back the candy then swiftly shrugged herself out of the coat, dismissing what she had found. With the coat folded over her lower arm, she walked out of the small room. Rick remained there a moment, processing what he'd just experienced. Ten years on, Kate was an opened wound when it came to her mother's death. But it went deeper and he now understood how deep. She lost her mother permanently, she lost her father to alcohol for an extended period. It was he who was the only person who had got in close since. She was terrified of losing him.

"Rick?"

He raised an eyebrow when she re-appeared. She was saddened by her finds. It was all over her face. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out his left hand towards her. "Come here a minute."

She obeyed and returned to him, letting him give her a hug.

"She loved you, Kate. This was a reminder that she's present in your life in many ways." He stroked her head, "You have her gorgeous eyes, her beautiful smile. Her old candy."

Kate laughed and squeezed his body. "Her beautiful coat."

He laughed and gave her backside a playful pat. "Get outa here. We have a hotel room waiting for us."

"Stop it." She slapped at Rick's hand as his palm slid up her inner thigh and she laughed with him.

"Annoying huh?" He leaned over towards the driver's seat, glancing between the road ahead and Kate who drove the Ferrari like she'd just escaped hell. His hand remained at her inner thigh, the wind gushed around them, changing direction as she tight hugged the car into a corner. The gears dropped, and as she drove out of the turn she accelerated seeing the road was clear ahead.

"It's a good thing you're a cop," he shouted which caused her to grin. "You have a lead foot Beckett."

"It turns you on, Ricky."

He laughed. "What turns me on is what you did before, while I was driving."

She glanced to his eyes, his groin, back to the road, her top teeth biting her bottom lip, then said, "Certainly got a reaction."

"Yeah, like this will." He replied as his fingers wandered higher between her thighs. "Oh, no panties, Beckett!"

She giggled, she squeaked, and her hips bucked when one of his fingers found the spot. Her eyes shot down to his hand beneath her dress.

"Commando day." He commented, then ordered. "Keep your eyes on the road."

Kate couldn't help but part her knees, her foot not faltering on the accelerator. His thick finger slid gracefully over her sensitive bump for the first time in weeks which caused her to think she was going to shatter right there and then. She held her breath, her stomach muscles clenched.

"Fuck. Rick." It was gasped. Fingers slipped back over, twice and she was shuddering uncontrollably. He laughed out his wickedness. He lowered his finger. Hoped, prayed he kept going. Down the silky smooth skin, there he was, just outside of her. She drove his car on a country road and he was about to plunge his fingers inside her. He knew he was unravelling her, he knew he was going to cover her today. He had been amorous the entire day and she had seduced him most of it. They hadn't had sex in weeks. For days, Kate had been climbing the walls because her body hungered for Rick.

"Weeks." She spilt out. He ceased to move. The movement of the car agitated his hand against her.  
She glanced at his confused face, then explained, "It's been weeks."

"Since we fucked about?"

She swallowed and nodded.

"No shit Sherlock. Its fucking killed me." He squawked.

"I'm so sorry," she offered with a giggle, "I've been desperate to have you. I was so scared."

"Hey," he cut in with concern. "I don't want apologies, Baby. We're past that now. Its time for action."

She nodded again, glancing down at his still hand, wanting him to wriggle his fingers against her, "I'm past it," she agreed eyes back on the road.

Rick laughed, "I know." He checked the road ahead, aware they were about five minutes from the hotel. That was enough time to have her wound up for the room, "I just want you to enjoy our foreplay, and I know you are.. um.. enjoying it quite a bit. You are so damn wet," he groaned. "Oh God I missed this. Hours of torment. So ready."

Kate slowed the vehicle, "Castle, shut up. I'm going to cum and then the party will be over, if you keep up that dirty talk." She smiled cheekily and bit her bottom lip.

He laughed. "You just focus on getting us to the hotel, and I will focus on how much I am going to make you cum when we get inside." And with that said he pushed himself inside her body instantly feeling her response. Her body jerk, muscles flexed then relaxed, the car slowed then increased in speed.

"Oh," she squeaked, "Oh, Rick."

He watched her face, felt her body respond, the growl that came from her was exquisite. She drove the car perfectly, slowing as she approached the town the hotel was in.

"Excellent." Rick grumbled, leaned right over and pressed his lips to the side of her head. "You are so ripe for the picking." He sat back in his seat.

She shot him a dark look. "Ripe?"

He laughed, thoroughly enjoying the torment. He loved to tease her. "Take the next right."

"Rick, you are in so much trouble." She warned and proceeded to enter the intersection.

"Next left, there is the house …."

"The weatherboard?"

"That's it." He pointed to the old but beautifully renovated Victorian house. "And we are right on time."

"Rick, it's gorgeous."

"It used to belong to a coachman. Stables are still out back."

"You said we were staying at a hotel."

"I lied. We have the entire house to ourselves for three days. Gives us more room and I have the laser tag with me to kick your ass."

She squeaked with excitement looking at the house as she slowed the vehicle right down. "Oh Castle, its beautiful."

"Wait till you see inside. Pull in that drive way."

She obeyed, "Laser tag?"

"And Scrabble."

"Scrabble?"

"We can play strip Scrabble." He pointed towards the door to the house. The screen door opened. "The guy with the keys."

"The guy with the keys…" she echoed as Rick jumped out the car to meet the ban on the porch.


	54. Chapter 54

_Apologies for the delay. Been busy with work and this part is being written as I go. It harder to write when they are getting along and there's no conflict…. Prefer to throw the characters into a mess and write them out of it. Far more fun._

 **Chapter 54**

Rick put the bags to the floor near the entry of their holiday home, then pushed the front door to. It closed with a hollow clunk that echoed. He'd just farewelled the owner of the property and they now had this old, probably haunted house, to themselves for the next three days. So long has he had her home in the evening before she was to go back on shift, he'd be right. What happened from here on out was up to them, and he prayed their time together would re-bond them.

Turning a slow circle, he took in the spectacular entrance to the old home. An antique hall stand was to his left when he came in the door, stairs were straight ahead and to his right was a large doorway that he assumed lead to the kitchen mainly because the smell of cooked bread was wafting from that direction. Old black and white images hanging from the walls, gave the home an enchanting touch. The sounds of utensils being used caused him to follow the scent hoping Kate would be eating. He found her at the kitchen counter, a thick chunk of bread in her mouth and she was fully focussed on consuming the food. The bread was thickly smeared in raspberry jam. She was perfectly content. The counter was decorated with platters of cheeses, fruit and drinks. Enough to feed a family, when there was only him with the good appetite and Kate with the small appetite. Great, they didn't have to go buy groceries.

"What have you found here?" He rounded the bench to peer down at the hot loaf on the wooden bed and grabbed a few grapes.

"It's delicious, Castle." She held out the bread for him to take a bite then waited to see his reaction.

He gave the thumbs up, and a smile with a full mouth.

"Look at all the food that we have."

He swallowed, "I ordered enough food so we don't have to go shopping. The fridge will be full."

"Wine?"

Rick pointed at the bar fridge beneath the counter. "Plenty of it."

Kate's phone, that was on the counter between the fruit bowl and the bread tray, beeped with an incoming text. She turned about to check it, "Oh its Lanie, Castle."

Rick crept up behind her, slipped his hands about her waist and kissed her shoulder, "She thinks you're at home?"

She nodded. "I'm off work for four days so we usually catch up."

"Maybe it's time you told Lanie we're dating," he hinted his hand sliding down her tummy, lower and lower. The desire to kiss her shoulder, her neck, was stronger than him. His gestures of love were rewarded with moans of sheer pleasure and her body leaned into his.

She whispered his name, her tone full of content, and lightly shook her head.

"She's your best friend."

"You are," she corrected right before she took a healthy bite of the bread.

It gave him pause, and he raised his arms until he held her in his arms, his chin on her shoulder. There hadn't been a second of hesitation. It had simply come out without thought. The smell of the fresh bread, the fruit, Kate was indulging his senses, arousing him.

"Same. It's you. You're the one I want with me, but maybe you should tell Lanie."

"No," she then hummed, busy enjoying what Rick was doing, "Not ready to, Rick."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want share us. This. I don't want to have to tell people."

"You know, I was thinking…" he whispered. "You need someone to know."

"My Dad knows." She looked over her shoulder at his eyes and softly said, "I'm okay with just us for now."

"Okay." He accepted and resumed his subtle efforts to seduce his girlfriend. A trail of featherlike kisses was made up the side of her neck to her hairline and received instance approval. The recipient momentarily leaned in emitting a pleasurable sound he appreciated, but then her body stiffened. He paused his show of endearment, watched her stare at the bread.

"Are you hungry?" He inquired, deciding to put the brakes on his love making to let her eat. She needed to eat. She shrugged seemingly indifferent to food.

"I have to answer her."

"Ignore it for now." He requested, noting she put down the bread, more interested in him than food.

Rick guided Kate to turn around, then lifted her up until she was sitting on the kitchen counter. His hands were beneath her dress.

"The counter is cold," she softly spoke, her fingers combing his hair.

"Lay down," he reached behind her to slide the bowl of fruit out of her way then slid the phone out of Kate's reach. He dragged a bar stool close enough to sit on.

She picked up the bread, "Castle let's eat first. I'm starving." A healthy bite was taken.

Rick laughed, "Well Baby, I'm starving and I'm about to have a feast -" Large blue eyes looked up to Kate's mischievous eyes as he lightly pushed her back into a reclined position. "- Of you." He guided her legs up to rest upon his shoulders.

A smile spread over his face as his hand softly stroke up the inner side of her left leg, "There we are," he gleefully stated, gazing down upon the glorious sight of his girlfriend.

"Castle."

Her tone was impatient, demanding.

"Did you miss me?" He lightly brushed the back on her fingers down her tender skin at the top of her leg, getting the desired response from her. "Because I sure as hell missed you, this."

She laughed, lifted her head to see him. "My hoo-ha?" It made him smile, seeing her shiny dilated eyes.

"Hoo-ha?" He smirked, "Yes, I definitely missed that."

His right palm, flat to her skin, glided from her pubic bone over her navel to her chest. His smile faded, when he saw she sobered.

She moistened her lips, rocked her legs gently on his shoulders, "I missed you tremendously, Rick. Our intimacy."

"Same, the intimacy." He stood, sat her up and brought her to him. Arms snaked round his neck, legs surrounded his torso. She was tight on him and he pressed her body into his and held her.

At the top of the stairs they had bolted up, they stopped dead at the sight of a hallway with five opened doorways. Rick, who maintained close proximity with Kate, put his hands to her hips.

"Where do we go, Castle?"

"Wherever there is a bed," he encouraged her forward to the doorway to their left. Bedroom. To their right was another bedroom that was larger, with large windows. "This one will do."

Laughing and clumsily stepping, Kate turned about lifting her arms up around his neck. They kissed, playfully as they stepped across the bedroom blindly, her body held vertical by Rick. He urged Kate to the bed, tugging at her only piece of clothing with one hand, his other looped around her body. Near the bed, he grabbed the dress with both his hands and extracted it from her over her head. Nothing at all underneath. He groaned, peering down at her nakedness, as she tugged at his t-shirt. He assisted her and pulled it off, and discarded it with her dress.

Undressed he grabbed her in his embrace and using moderate strength, he guided then lowered her to the bed. She felt safe, confident she wouldn't come to harm. Her thighs fell apart to allow his body to follow, their mouths firmly connected. His hands dropped to the sides of her body to support his weight and her hands reached around his neck drawing him closer. Her legs wrapped around his body.

"Castle," she mumbled as she breathed. "Rick."

"Mm."

"Inside me."

"Wait…"

"Rick."

Her hand blindly felt down his torso until she found his hardened cock pulsing against his belly. She encircled it, used him to tilt her pelvis then guided the tip of his penis over her. Instinctively he pushed, sliding inside her. Filling her immobilized Kate, and she emitted a whimper before she strengthened her hold on his body, a devilish smile growing.

Panting, arching his torso, he pressed his lips to her neck, her collar bone and finally her nipple between his lips. "Fuck," he mumbled, nuzzling her breast. "I'm gonna cum, Baby."

"No.." she pleaded. "Not yet."

He laughed devilishly, nibbled at her flesh and began to fuck her. Beckett grabbed his shoulders, her eyes wide, "You shit. You were playing me."

"Fooled you." He responded and returned to her mouth he ravished. "You're so hot inside."

Rick rolled taking Kate with him. She was set on top and balanced herself using hands on his chest. With folded legs straddling his body, she stared down at Rick, feeling the pulse of his erection within her, the pressure of him deep inside. She rolled her hips a little to arouse, stared at his face.

"Tease," he whispered, reaching to her mouth. She sucked his thumb momentarily, lightly squeezed her teeth, saw his eyes widen then tilted her head to his hand that stroked the side of her head.

She pulled away, so his thumb fell out of her mouth, whispered, "Castle." She leaned forward stroked his chest.

"Me too," he softly said his hands to her thighs.

Later, Kate woke from a nap, alone in a strange environment. She lifted her head from the pillow and sleepily took in the surroundings. Large bedroom, spacious and bright. The late afternoon sun was coming in the windows. A few minutes after she woke, and wearing the dress Rick had left at the end of the bed for her, she took the stairs to the ground level in search of Rick.

She made a pit stop at the kitchen to reclaim her bread and a drink then continued her search.

When they had arrived, they hadn't really inspected the house prior to making love. It had been a while so their thoughts had been on each other and food, but had she slowly roamed the house, absorbing the paintings, the décor and furniture. When she came across her boyfriend he was in a room converted to an office, at his laptop busily tapping away. Rick was oblivious to her presence. He'd told her a few times he'd had writers block for weeks. Didn't seem so anymore. She leaned against the doorframe to admire him, in awe of him, that he was her boyfriend. His hair was messed, his cheeks as rosy as hers from making love.

Laughter spilt from him, most like because of something he'd thought up. He flung himself bank into rapidly typing.

"Perfect, totally got it." He pumped the air.

"Hey." She softly interrupted. He looked up a boyish grin all over his face.

"Hey. You woke up." He glanced at the time.

"You're writing?" She was pleasantly surprised, keen to know how he was going.

"Inspiration hit me when we were in the middle of it, before." He pointed towards the ceiling. "I really like what you did …"

"Oh." She blushed, and timidly asked her hands waving about to explain what she was referring, "That bit? Really?"

"Mm. That bit."

"Okay." Her gaze shifted to the ceiling. "While we made love?"

"Mm. Because of you."

"Me." She swallowed.

Rick sat back in the chair amused by her behaviour. He nodded. "I just want to write."

"You wanna write, while you have me here." Kate smiled. "Like you write while I sleep."

"Confession. I mostly watch you sleep."

"Creepy?"

"Maybe, but I move to another room so I can write, until I hear you getting restless."

"Still creepy, Castle." She laughed then pointed over her should, "Wanna beer?"

"Sure. Thanks."

Kate walked away, her chest humming. She was so happy he was writing again. So bloody happy.

When she returned a minute or so later, she placed two beers on the desk and at his request with an arm reaching out to her, she sat across his lap and leaned into him.

He stroked her bare leg. "I like having you back with me," he said. "I'm happy I'm writing and my agent will be too." He chuckled.

She leaned tighter into his chest, pressed her lips to his temple. "Me too. What you writing?"

"Nikki Heat. She's been fighting with Rook. I was stuck in that and couldn't find a way out."

"And…"

"Got them back together." He pressed his lips softly to the knuckles of right hand. She smelt of him. "Can I ask you something, Kate?"

"Only if I can read what you've done so far.." She laughed.

"Sure… " He studied the long slender fingers entwined in his, "If someone was to ask, how would you describe me?"

She stared at him wide eyed. "Seriously?"

"Mm. Tell me. I need help to make Rook more three dimensional for the readers."

She processed that, "Okay. Well not in any particular order."

He kissed her jaw, "Not in any order," he echoed. "I'm suffering sudden anxiety."

"Don't be worried, Ricky, be terrified." Kate laughed.

"Hit me with it." He ordered, slightly afraid.

"Charming." She murmured, kissed his finger tip that tenderly traced her lips.

"Yes." He agreed, "I can be." He blushed with a warm smile.

"Umm." Eyes glowing, she momentarily scanned the ceiling then returned to his bright blue eyes, "Boyish." She giggled.

"Of course." He agreed and crept himself around her a little closer.

"Loyal." She watched his eyes, drawn to her face. "Very loyal."

He kissed the edge of her jaw.

"So loyal," he whispered.

"Annoying." She squeaked and pulled back a bit, "Resourceful, persistent, funny."

This time it was Rick who sat back, his wide eyes on her, "You're going too fast."

Kate reached for a bottle of beer she then handed to Rick.

"Now, time for me to read, Ricky." She grabbed her beer.

"Turn, Beckett," he waited for Kate to adjust on his lap then retrieved his laptop from the desk. With it placed her lap he wrapped his arms around her to reach the key board, "I will save it to the cloud. My iPad is in my overnight bag. You can knock yourself out."

"May I edit?"

"Sure can."

She rested her head on his shoulder relaxed in his secure hold.

"Castle?"

"Mmm."

"You're precious, and you bruise easily."

He stilled. He breathed in deeply touched by her words, "And I'm the writer."

She smiled and playfully pushed her face against his neck which made him laugh, "Its why you can write."

"I think I have it for Rook."

"So I've done my job and can go read your manuscript."

"Knock yourself out."

Carefully, Kate extracted herself from Rick's lap, and with the bottle of beer in her hand she rushed off to go find his iPad.

For several minute Rick processed what she'd said, allowed his emotional centre to feel. Quiet, humbled by Kate's response he returned to his manuscript to fix up what he couldn't get right about Rook. Now he knew how to write life into the character on the pages.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

"Look, we are talking about the lead in a Broadway play. This is a potential gold mine, Kate."

"Gold mine for?"

"Us." Rick stressed. "If my mother gets the role, who knows how long it could run for. It could even take her on the road. This is awesome!" Rick was overly excited to share the news with Beckett, who drove the unmarked police unit to the crime scene. As usual she wore an expression that was a good blend of awe and terror.

"Awesome? How?" She glanced repeatedly at her boyfriend confused by the cause of his elevated behaviour. Since the second he'd got in the car he'd been talking. Had barely taken a breath. It was noise she wasn't accustomed to.

"Do I have to explain this?"

Kate looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. "Yes, you do."

"We will have my place to ourselves more. Just you, me and Alexis."

"Great, I guess. Does Alexis want Martha gone too?"

"No. No way. She loves her grandmother being there. They adore each other."

"We have my place." Kate reminded him with a smile, "Your refuge."

"Shit yeah." The writer laughed, "For those times when the red heads take over."

Kate laughed. "So glad that I'm brunette."

"Same. Enough red heads in my life. I hope you have brunette kids." Rick smiled.

"Rick," she warned.

"Sorry, so continuing, things were getting quite strenuous at home. When I got your call, I had the get out of jail pass. Alexis begged me to bring her with me to this murder scene."

"Your Mother is really that bad with rehearsing?" Kate pulled the car to the curb and cut the engine. She relaxed a moment turning in the seat to face her partner.

"Wait till you see her prior to a new role. She will draw you in, believe me. Recruit you. Some people would have her committed. For days, she repeats the same line over and over." Rick unclipped his seat belt. "Hopefully she'll get the role. Get a break. She could do with that."

"Yes."

"Murder at Fountain plaza?" He peered out the window to towards the crime scene.

"Yeah, apparently two skinny dippers found a body in the fountain thingo." Kate replied, not sure whether the square randomly shooting water into the air was classified as a fountain.

"Thingo?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to figure out a correct name but my brain is stuck on your family's breakfast and what I've got myself into dating you, writer boy."

"Writer boy?"

She nodded repressing a cheeky smiled. "Not just a celebrity."

"Mm." He opened the door.

She couldn't help the smile as she got out the vehicle. At the side walk she stopped in front of him, gazed over is face thinking about how handsome he was with his bright blue eyes, still a little puffy from sleep.

He casually pushed her hair away from her eyes, "Glad you left early for the gym huh?"

"Yeah, well you didn't want to do Pilates this morning." She answered briefly watching his hand that had brushed away the annoying strands of hair the wind kept disturbing.

"Had I known what the future held I would have joined you."

"I will remind you of that tomorrow morning, Ricky. Its kick boxing."

"Same thing at home really." Rick smirked as they walked to the scene.

A minute or so later, they found Esposito and Ryan with Dr Parish who leaned over the body.

"Tell us what happened," Beckett said scanning the scene. A body in a wet dress, hair messed up and a stabbing wound in the back.

Esposito replied, "Caucasian female. A couple of skinny dippers found her this morning."

Castle said, "Bet that killed the mood."

Ryan continued, "Purse is missing. No ID. And get this, we couldn't find her shoes."

Beckett looked about them at the apartments and offices surrounding the square, "Canvass the buildings, Ryan, surrounding the plaza and get uniforms to check trash cans and dumpsters for her purse."

"Will do."

Beckett and Castle focussed on the body that lay face down. The doctor was busy taking notes.

"Hi, Lanie," Kate greeted.

"Hey." The doctor responded glancing between Rick and Kate.

"Cause of death?" Kate asked taking in the sight of the woman in what had been a beautiful dress.

"Stabbing. There's a fatal wound in her back." She pointed at the bloodied hole in the dress, "Maybe it was a robbery gone wrong."

"Maybe," Beckett agreed, "We gotta find out who she is and what she was doing here so late, though."

Castle scanned the body a Lanie and an assistant rolled the body over to her back, "Well, she's tall, she's gorgeous, ten pounds underweight. Her hair is fried, she's wearing too much eye makeup. She's a model. Which means she was probably at a club last night. It is, after all, Fashion Week, when all the hottest women in the world descend upon the hippest nightspots like locusts. Only, locusts eat."

Beckett stared at him, "Can you tell me who killed her?

Castle shook his head in the negative.

"Then pipe down."

"This was on her wrist." Lanie handed Beckett an evidence bag with a wrist band.

Beckett declared with disbelief, "She was at a club. That's Teddy Farrow's logo. He designs clothes for women. Upscale, expensive."

"Oh, my credit card and I are painfully aware of Teddy's designs. I almost asked for custody of them after my last divorce." Castle stated but didn't see Kate roll her eyes.

Beckett felt a pang of jealousy, but she pushed it down, aware there was no reason to feel that way. She was after all the one he wanted to be with. "Is there a label in her dress?" She asked.

Lanie checked the label, "Teddy Farrow Collection."

"Well, if she is one of his models, maybe he can identify her for us. Thank you, Lanie." Beckett handed the evidence bag back to Lanie.

"You're welcome." Lanie replied.

"I can already see the blurb on my next book jacket," Rick shared with anyone who listened, "It's Fashion Week in New York City, and the clothes are to die for." He narrated, looked about for his partner and hurried after her.

Kate walked towards to the venue the fashion show was being held at. She knew from experience that the designers, the make-up artists, hair dressers and designers would be preparing for the day, while the models would soon arrive in groups by the car load. Once upon a long time ago, she'd been one of those models and she had crossed paths with the now famous Teddy Farrow. In those days, he'd been a designer's assistance on the other side of the continent, not yet able to make his own designs. She was confident he wouldn't remember her, after all she was one of thousands of women he'd laid his eyes on. She had just been a figure that wore clothes.

Beside her Rick walked, clearly excited about where they were headed. Being a typical man with a heart beat, he was openly keen to clap his eyes on the models. It amused her that he had no idea he was sleeping with a woman who'd dabbled in modelling and knocked back lucrative contracts. No one knew she had a manager and took a few jobs here and there. Rather than a check out job in a store, modelling had paid her way through Stanford and the bug a stuck around a little. A couple of weeks back, her feet had been used to model shoes for a catalog. The month before, she'd modelled clothing for a small NY designer at a private function. The money, good money, helped pay for extra things. Her father had helped her with being able to afford an apartment on her own, the modelling gave her the boost that being a homicide cop didn't provide. Being older and not interested in a career, she had taken to doing the menial jobs that brought in the cash.

Inside the venue, behind the stage where all the action was, she soon found Teddy Farrow. Apart from new age lines on his face, the thickening of his facial features, he hadn't changed much at all.

It was difficult to gain his attention with everyone seeking instruction from him about various aspects of the show but the second she had his focus she got down to business and dismissively introduced herself as Detective Beckett, to avoid the designer make any connection to the lanky eighteen year old model, Katherine Beckett, who had once graced the show room he worked in.

Farrow recognized the murder victim as Jenna McBoyd. They had a name. Farrow was too busy and too distracted to recognize Beckett. At one stage, he had given her a funny look, and she had held her breath, anticipating he was about to ask where he'd seen her face. He had seen her face, probably more than a dozen times over the years, but without the make-up and long hair she'd once had, she looked different.

As they walked out of the venue, Rick summed it up using a deep news reader tone, "So Jenna McBoyd was Farrow's top model for the show he has going on this week, she was a small-town girl and to quote Farrow, straight off the bus from Ohio."

Beckett couldn't help but smile at his narration, "Yes, she was headed for her fifteen minutes of fame, Castle. That would have meant potential to get photo shoots, magazines, billboards in Times Square, travel, not to mention a very generous pay check. It can be overwhelming."

"That seems to be all pretty heavy stuff for a naive young girl from Ohio."

"It would be. Modelling is hard work." Kate stated with emphasis but shut herself up before she said anymore.

"Is that the voice of experience?" Rick asked, glancing from her face to her feet and back, "You could be a model."

"What? No!"

"I'm gonna foot note this discussion for later, Beckett."

"Castle."

"Later."

"I'm saying, Farrow said that in recent weeks, Jenna had become so bad-tempered and paranoid that he'd started to wonder if she was lacking the experience for a major campaign."

"You're avoiding the bit about you modelling, and yes, there also could have been pressure on her," he gave pause, "Not to eat."

"Castle."

"Sorry."

"Mm." She grunted, "Speaking of noting, Ricky, what was with the model?"

Curiously he gave her a questioning look, "Which model? There were heaps of them that turned up."

"Don't give me that, Castle." She waved her hands over in front of her eyes, "Tall as me. Bambi eyes."

"You mean the tall skinny girl?" He asked not able to hold back a smile, "I don't know. I've met her before but I don't remember where or when."

"You slept with her?"

He frowned at Kate, "Arr… Jealous?"

"No."

"Of course not." Rick mumbled as he waited at the passenger side door for Kate to arrive at the driver's side. He said over the roof of the car, "No. And I mean that. No, I haven't slept with her." He got in the car and once he closed the door he looked to Beckett who happened to look at him. A grin broke over his face as he proudly said, "But I got her number." He had to tease her at lease a bit.

"She was quite familiar with you, Ricky. Had the magazine you're in."

"She was. I noticed that too." He gave it some thought while he studied her features, her stance. "You are jealous."

"No. You noticed she was flirting and you responded."

"I noticed. Be stupid not to."

"You do remember you're sleeping with me."

"How could I forget?"

"Can't imagine. Specially after what I gave you this morning." She giggled.

Rick's mouth fell open, "God yes. That was fucking sensational."

"Thank you." She smiled, "So, the victim had Christian Louboutin pink satin pumps on when she left the venue. The dress she was wearing was a one-of-a-kind."

"Certainly is now," Rick remarked, "Farrow didn't like hearing the dress was in evidence now. By the way, did you pick up a copy of the magazine on your way to Pilates?"

"What magazine?"

"C'mon Katie, you know which mag I'm talking about. Your arms are crossed…. Have you done modelling? You have long legs, you're tall, a square jaw, most beautiful eyes … You'd make a great model. Legs that go forever. All my photos of you are awesome."

She rolled her eyes, "In your dreams, Castle."

"You are my dreams. They do come true."

"Yeah, well." She bit her lip in thought as she turned the car to the left. "Sierra, the best friend, said Jenna left the party around midnight and assumed she was going home. As we known, Mr Farrow mentioned that Jenna seemed agitated lately."

"And Sierra thought that was because Teddy was announcing the new face of his collection today. Jenna was up for the job and she was a little tense, but she didn't have any reason to be -"

"- because Jenna was Teddy's favourite and now we need to tell her husband." Kate finished.

"We go to him?"

"Nope. I'll call him and ask him into the Precinct for a talk." She continued to drive the car, headed back towards the Precinct. They were silent for about ten seconds.

"Beckett?"

"Castle?"

"Have you done modelling?"

"Fuck Castle, you're not gonna let this go." She glanced at him, sweating about him finding out her little secret.

"I will do research." It was a threat that made Kate think fast. He would look into it until he found evidence.

"Alright Castle. I used to model. Along time ago." Her tone was higher than normal. "Modelled lingerie." She added.

He scoffed, "You did not, Kate. No way!"

Kate clammed up and continued to drive. Sometimes the truth was too shocking to believe and she knew Rick would never swallow that confession. She smiled, and bravely added, "Recently it was expensive lingerie for a French designer." She bit her lip.

Rick roared with laughter, "Get outa here, Beckett. No way! You wouldn't be wasting your time being a cop. You're biting your lip."

"Fantasy, huh?" She giggled.

"Fantasy alright." He shifted on his seat, tugged at the leg of his jeans.

"What's up?" She asked, brow knotted curious as to why he clumsily fidgeted.

"I'm aroused thinking about you modelling lingerie, Katie. See what you do to me?" He squeaked.

A snort escaped her. "Better control it, Ricky, we're nearly there."

"Yeah, well you keep this behaviour up this is what happens, Kate."

She laughed, "I'm delighted I can do that to you."

"Of course you are. Maybe I should investigate what I do to you." He glanced at her groin, before he stared at her face, "I bet I know what I will find."

Quite serious, she said, "No need Castle. You give me headaches. You will find painkillers throughout my apartment."

He gave another scoff.

"You scoffed." She stated. "Again."

"Oh yeah. There's never a sign of a headache in the bedroom."

"Well…. You work on taming that erection, Ricky while I think about what we did last night."

Laughter filled the car. "You are an evil woman, Beckett. Drive us to the nearest hotel."

After they met with the deceased's husband, Castle and Beckett used the good old white board to draw up their time line and organise their evidence. The B team decided to join them, pulling up their chairs.

"On the night of Jenna's death, Travis McBoyd went to bed around eleven," Beckett marked her time line then wrote above the mark.

"At 3.11 am he called the cops," Castle added.

"Which we have proof of and – "

"They said he had to wait 48 hours till he could report her missing." Castle continued, his eye trained on their developing time line.

"He then brought up the harassment reports and the stalker letters." Kate stated, scanning her written notes as she spoke.

Ryan did the same, "Yes, the letters were mailed from the Soho post office. No return address. No signature." Ryan read then looked up from his note book to each of his team members who were smirking.

"So, the anonymous stalker didn't write down his name and number," Esposito chuckled.

Ryan frowned in acceptance they laughed because of his vague moment, "Yeah, I'm just saying."

Castle who had a handful of sheets of paper, read aloud, "I saw you today in the subway. Did you see me? I wanted to taste you."

"That's pretty sick stuff." Esposito commented, as he quietly watched Kate who was secretly studying Rick.

She spoke, "But he doesn't make any direct threats. That's why Jenna and Travis couldn't get the beat cops to take them seriously."

"Boy, two small-town kids go to the big city to follow their dreams and then this. Not the fairy-tale ending they were looking for, I'm sure."

Esposito said, "You know, Castle, to take these shots, he would have had to have been on a rooftop pretty close to the apartment."

Beckett nodded, "No wonder she was freaked out. Find the roof, see if there's anything up there that we can use to identify him. Those cops let Jenna down once. We're not gonna do it again."


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

They had a couple of hours break away from each other. Kate had a meeting she needed to attend and Rick went home to check in on his daughter who was home studying. They caught up at the morgue just after the sun had gone down. Beckett was waiting for him by her car. He casually strolled up to her, watching her when she was unaware of his presence. She wore black jeans, boots and a leather jacket. A fellow walking by eyed her off, then happened to connect eyes with Rick. The guy smiled. Rick's chest expanded. She was his girlfriend.

He stopped beside her, trying to figure out what had her attention down the street.

"Hey." He spoke softly so he didn't spook her, but her head spun at the sound of his voice. She smiled.

"You're here." She brushed her hand down the sleeve of his right arm. It was like electricity.

'Of course. I saw Alexis."

"She's good?"

"Mmm. Very." He gazed over her face, hooked his little finger discreetly into hers. "That model called." It was calm stated.

He saw her entire expression change but she waited in silence for him to continue.

"I know how I met her."

"The Bambi eyed one?"

He gave her a look, "Yes. You know which one. She used to baby sit Alexis." He informed her then smiled only on the right side of his face.

Kate smirked, "Seriously? Your kid's old baby sitter?"

"Alexis' yes." He followed Kate as she commenced to walk toward the morgue entrance. "I knew I hadn't slept with her, Kate. She was way too young."

"I know."

"Good. How did your meeting go?"

She nodded, "Good. Lanie has the body on the slab."

"Oh, That's why we're here." He opened the door for Kate who then stepped inside ahead of him. She waited for him. "Remember not to think about us in front of Lanie."

"I've got it down pat now, Castle."

"I'm glad to hear it."

They found Lanie in the middle of the post mortem examination of the body. She held a clipboard and was taking notes.

"I'm putting the time of death between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m." The doctor stated, pausing from her work, without looking up. She finished up then put down the clipboard.

"She left the party at midnight," Beckett said mainly to Rick.

"So, where was she for two hours?" Rick asked.

Beckett turned her attention to Lanie, unable to answer his question at this point in time. "Any signs of sexual assault?"

"No, but she put up a fight. There's some bruising on her arms and hands, her dress was torn, there's a cut inside of her cheek, indicating that she was slapped hard. But here's the weird part. She was stabbed with something long and sharp. It wasn't your typical blade."

"How so?" Beckett inquired.

"Well, based on the wound, I made a reconstruction."

Lanie handed Beckett a drawing of the weapon and she held it up for both her and Castle to inspect.

"It's four-sided." Lanie explained, "It's slimmer at the tip and gets progressively wider at the base. Also, I found traces of glass in the wound."

Castle looked at Beckett, "She was stabbed with the Washington Monument?"

Beckett's cell phone rang. She handed the drawing to Castle so she could answer the call.

"Excuse me." She stepped away, "Esposito, any luck?"

Castle studied the sketch, "I don't know, Lanie. This could be anything but the Washington Monument is on the mark, but for its size."

"Esposito and Ryan found cigarette butts, soda cans and an empty package for a digital camera memory card." Beckett said as she returned to stand beside Rick again. "They are taking it to CSU, to see if they can pull any prints." She glanced at the time, "Anything else, Lanie?"

"Yeah. Preliminary tox screen indicated her blood alcohol was 0.02, and there were traces of Addmair in her system."

"What's that?" Castle asked.

"It's a form of speed," the doctor explained, "Usually prescribed to people with ADD. But models have been known to buy it off the street and use it for weight loss."

Beckett sighed, "So much for her being anti-drug."

"I guess the job and the stalker weren't the only things making her tense."

Conversation was fragmented as they walked out of the morgue, both sharing they felt the day's events were catching up.

Kate also thought about and craved for a soak in her bath tub. She was still making the decision about which scented bath salts she would use when they got in the car. She'd then slip into one of her lacy or silk pieces for Rick. It made her smile just thinking about how much he enjoyed clothing. It brought out his charm, his ability to be romantic, his super sensitive side.

While they took the drive back the Kate's apartment, Rick thought about making love to a model and pizza. The idea, even the remote idea, that Kate had done modelling had cranked his appeal of her up another notch he didn't think he had. He was also making a strategy to determine whether she had been a model. Her father was the most obvious person to ask, but he was too scared to ask him. She had a cousin and aunt he was yet to be introduced to. Couldn't ask them yet. He'd find out using his own resources.

A meat lovers pizza was at the top of his list. Perhaps a pepperoni pizza. Kate's usual palette pleaser would most likely be the gourmet number she had written up on her fridge under the pizza phone number.

"Number sixteen."

"Huh?" Kate shot him a look.

"The pizza you want."

"We're having pizza?" Beckett drove into the garage.

"It's too late to cook and I'm not sure what is left in your fridge."

"Okay." She maintained a slow speed through the garage as she asked, "Do you find it odd Jenna had a stalker?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"Well, she wasn't Heidi Klum, Castle. She hadn't even had a national campaign."

He shrugged, watching his side of the car as Kate swung the vehicle into her tight fitting car space, "Maybe the guy figured he was getting in on the ground floor, stalker-wise, you know. Beat the rush."

"Maybe." She killed the engine then reached into the back seat for her bag. A copy of the Cosmo magazine fell on the console between their seats. Rick grinned.

"Oh! You couldn't resist, could you, Baby? Pretty nice write-up, huh?"

"Baby?" Beckett hissed, then snatched up the magazine. "Yeah. Nice write-up if you like those sorts of fluff pieces." She got out the car as he did.

Castle retaliated over the roof of the Crown, "Fluff? The reporter made you sound like you're a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Angelina Jolie. And the picture isn't half-bad, either. Although, you don't always need to cross your arms." He swiped over the roof of the car then checked his finger pads, "Geez, your car needs a clean, Beckett."

"You said that earlier," Beckett said, "It's fine." She paced across the garage with Rick hurrying after her.

Castle asked as he caught up, "The car or your arms?"

"Arms."

"Then why are you upset about the article?"

"I'm not upset."

Castle momentarily studied her walk which told him she was pissed about something, "You look upset. It's a nice photo."

"Well, I'm not." She hit the elevator button and immediately a light came on over the left doors.

When the doors opened, Rick followed her into the elevator, "But if you were upset, you would tell me, right?"

Beckett gave a nod, "But, I'm not."

Castle said, "But if you were."

"It doesn't matter because I'm not upset. What have you got in mind for dinner now?" She asked pressing her lips together hoping like hell that was the end of the writer's interrogation.

"Pizza still," he immediately replied.

"Okay." She brought the keys to the apartment from a pocket in her bag.

"You know Beckett, I've been thinking about pizza, sex and your apparent secret life as a model. Not specifically in that order."

The brown eye brows went up, "Secret?" Her voice was girlish, "Not a secret. Hard to keep that a secret." She stated.

"So, you're not denying it."

"Told you, Castle. I've modelled high end lingerie."

"Yeah right, I heard that one already, Kate. What are you thinking about?"

"Hot bath." She exited the box with Rick behind.

"That sounds like a good idea. I will do some research on models."

She unlocked the door, repressed a grin that wanted to burst out of her. He really didn't believe her that. There was some fun to be had with this. She could lead him along for a while longer.

"You don't believe that this body could model lingerie," she tempted.

He snorted, then laughed, "I know that the body you have been blessed with could model anything, but I know the soul. It's too kind of introverted to be exposed to the big modelling world."

She swallowed. He was right. The big modelling world was way too big for her. "Maybe I have an alter ego, Ricky." She teased.

"Maybe you do. Like I enjoy secretly writing fan fiction."

"Yes, when am I gonna get the pen name, Ricky?"

"When I see the magazine spread, Honey." Rick closed the door and securely locked them within the apartment as Kate made her way to the bedroom, tugging off clothes as she walked. Rick was at the fridge, tapping the phone number to the pizza place into this cell phone when Kate yelled out the number of the pizza she liked was stuck to the fridge door. He sighed.

"I'm on it, Baby." It was called back and he waited for the reaction.

"Baby? You called me baby."

Rick smiled and put the phone to his ear.

Bright and early the next morning, Beckett knocked solidly on the door of William James' apartment. She was backed up by Ryan, Esposito and Castle. The building manager waited nearby down the hall a little.

Beckett called out, "Will James, NYPD. Open up."

They waited, listened for movement within the apartment but only heard the sounds of their own breathing. Beckett signaled to the building manager to open up. As soon as the door was opened they NYPD team entered the property, guys poised.

Esposito called out from a bedroom, "We're all clear."

"Yeah, clear in here, too." Ryan called back.

Gun were holstered. Beckett and Castle pulled on latex gloves. She started to search through the living area, poking about at the belongings of their suspect.

Beckett said, "You guys. Look what I found." She held up photos of Jenna. "Jenna's comp card."

Esposito asked, "Comp card?"

"Yeah, agencies use it to get models work." Beckett replied, and immediately felt the eyes of Castle staring her down.

"Hmm." Esposito muttered flipping the card over.

Castle peered over Espo shoulder, "A single comp card? That's not very stalker-y. Where's the big, creepy wall of Jenna?"

"Beckett?" Ryan called.

"Yeah?"

"I think I got something. A camera with a telephoto lens."

"What has it got on it?" Beckett asked.

He studied the back of the camera for several seconds, "Nothing. Maybe it's been erased." Ryan pulled out the memory card and squinted to help him read the tiny print, "Ah. Q-tech, four gigs. Same as the empty package on the roof."

Beckett said, "Get it to CSU. See if they can recover the photos."

Castle searched through the belongings in the living room, "If this guy had a thing for Jenna, he sure was subtle about it."

Esposito stepped close to Ryan and whispered, "Did you know what a comp card is?"

Ryan shook his head.

Esposito glanced at Beckett, "Yeah. Me, neither."

The entry door began to open. Ryan and Esposito drew their guns as Will James entered the apartment.

The young man looked to each person in his home, three of them showing NYPD badges, "Can I help you, officers?"

Esposito said, "Will James? Get your hands up."

Will James was taken back to the Precinct for questioning and was charged for stalking. Beckett and Castle interviewed him while Ryan and Esposito ran the background checks. Half way through they were stopped by the boys who had ascertained Will James had been at work when the woman was murdered. They had been provided with video footage which got James off the hook.

"The photographer, Wyatt Monroe, Jenna's husband said he was trying to ruin it for Jenna by making her look bad." Kate said into the phone, "He has an alibi. He was at the party."

While Rick leaned against the car, he watched Kate pace five steps along the sidewalk, turn and take five steps back. She repeated it as she conversed with Ryan who was at the Precinct.

"Mm." He head bobbed, "Yeah, Sierra Goodwin has taken the deceased's place as Teddy Farrow's number one model." Kate stopped, stared across the road, continued to walk, "Yeah, they've moved on when the body is barely cold." Once again, she stopped mid stride. "Okay. Will see you tomorrow, Ryan." She paused, "Bye."

As she put the phone away Castle said, "It's not a job, this thing Jenna was involved in, Honey. It's a campaign, a career maker. Jealousy is a classic motive. You've seen the films. The Talented Mr Ripley. Dead Ringers, and of course, the underrated classic, Showgirls." He gazed over her face.

Beckett's brow furrowed, "Nobody murdered anyone in Showgirls." She cleared her throat, "I hear."

Castle smirked, "Yeah sure, just like you were a model."

"I was."

"We'll see about that. Sierra wanted to be Teddy's favorite, but she was second choice. Sierra could have thought what if Jenna was gone? Then she'd be number one. Then she would finally get everything that she deserved, being number one model. And then one night, she sees her chance. She lures Jenna somewhere quiet, deserted. And when Jenna turns her back, Sierra stabs her."

"With the statue of the Washington Monument that she carries in her purse?"

Castle added, "And then steals her shoes."

Beckett said, "Mm."

"It's not a perfect theory, but we're here anyway, so no harm in learning a little bit more about what makes Sierra Goodwin tick." Castle caught sight of Rina moving amongst the crowd. He said, "And I see just the girl to clue us in."

Rina also saw Castle and approached him, giving a wave and called out, "Rick!"

"Ah, that's Mr Castle to you, missy." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "Rina, this is Detective Beckett. Detective Beckett, Rina. She used to baby-sit for me. Or, I mean, Alexis.

Beckett smiled, "You don't say."

Castle said, "Actually, we're here about Jenna."

'Oh, that was so terrible.'

Castle replied, "Yeah. Was it true that she and Sierra Goodwin were kind of BFFs?"

Rina contemplated for a moment or two before she replied, "I wouldn't say BFFs. Sierra's more of a frenemy."

Beckett curious asked, "How so?"

"She doesn't play well with others."

Castle said, "She ever push anybody down the stairs?"

"No. Stupid stuff, really." Rina replied, "Lying about when a call time is. Itching powder in your underwear. Wait, and this one time, she crushed up a diet pill and dropped it into another model's champagne."

Beckett said, "You're saying she dosed someone?"

"The girl got all wired and called Calvin Klein a boring old fart, to his face."

Castle said, "Oh."

Beckett said, "Thank you, Rina. You've been very helpful."

Castle sees Beckett pondering. "You got something you want to share with the class?"

Beckett returned to the present, blinked then said, "I was just thinking, maybe Jenna didn't use drugs. Maybe Sierra was slipping them into her drinks when Teddy Farrow was around, to make her seem crazy or paranoid."

Castle said, "Now that is an evil deed worthy of the Showgirls special edition."

Beckett looked at the entrance and Rick followed her eye line, "What are those two doing here?"

Castle found Ryan and Esposito battling their way through a crowd of mostly tall, beautiful people, the two of them barely visible.

Rick laughed, "Fucking hell, they are short."

Kate giggled, "In a sea of giraffes they are. Even I feel short in here." Esposito raised a file above his head for them to see.

"You're not short. It's one of the things I like about you, being tall."

She smiled, "Yeah, I like it too." Once the detectives were with them Beckett said, "Okay, guys, what's going on?" Both men were busy looking at all of the women.

Pulling himself away from the eye candy, Esposito replied, "Tech managed to recover the deleted photos from Will James' memory card. He might not have been Jenna's killer, but he was definitely her stalker."

Beckett's brow creased, "And you drove all the way down here just to show me this?"

"We thought you'd want them right away," Ryan replied.

"That is so thoughtful of you guys," Castle commented.

"What do you think, Beckett?" Ryan asked still engrossed in their surroundings, "You missing the glamorous life?" He motioned to all the models, the atmosphere."

Beckett eyes opened wide, "The what life?"

Esposito interrupted, rescuing his mate, "Castle, hey." He got the writer's attention, "Is your, uh, your girl here?"

"Rina." Kevin reminded.

Beckett answered, almost defensively, "Rina used to baby-sit Alexis, fellas. So, as far as Big Rick here is concerned, she might as well be wearing a chastity belt."

Castle glared at Kate with a rather disturbed frown, "Thank you for that visual image. That's..." then he smiled smugly, "And also, thank you for calling me Big Rick. Told you."

Kate looked away but Rick caught the blush of her cheeks which caused him to laugh.

Esposito continued oblivious to the subtext going on between Castle and Beckett, "Hey, by the way, our buddy Will has a girlfriend we might want to talk to. There's, uh, some photos of her right here in the back." He handed Beckett a large envelope.

"Mmm. Naked photos." Ryan added.

Beckett pulled the photos out of the packet and scanned them. "Hey Castle, check this out. You get to look at naked pictures?"

"If you insist," Rick replied with a fresh dose of interest, and, when he thought he saw what he did, he leaned closer to Beckett really inspecting the photos. His eyebrows lifted. The photos were of Sierra Goodwin. He asked mostly to Beckett, "Isn't she Will James' girlfriend?"

Kate gave a nod, "Looks like Teddy Farrow isn't the only guy that Sierra was modeling for."

"I guess we are off to chat with the infamous Teddy Farrow."

Over dinner at the Precinct, the team sat around the table in the meeting room to debrief, a selection of Chinese take away boxes scattered between them. The men shoveled in food with plastic forks. Beckett was challenged with chop sticks she was determined to master. Her going was slower, whereas the men almost inhaled their meals.

"When was the last time you guys ate?" She asked looking at each of them.

"You saw, this morn…" Rick shut up as Kate shot him a daggered look. "The claw bear." He corrected.

"A few hours earlier." Espo replied. "This place Rick gets this food from, it's fantastic."

"No MSG, nor additives," Rick responded between mouthfuls. "Beckett reacts to MSG."

"Castle." She warned.

"You do. I saw you come up in hives…"

"True. It could also be my allergy to you."

The boys snickered.

"Ha ha." He wiped his fingers and mouth on a napkin. "Okay. Little Miss by the books here, needs to run her meeting so we can go home."

"Yes." Kate agreed as she chased a piece of honey chicken around her plate, attempting to clutch it between the wood chop sticks. The men watched on in amustement and glanced to each other.

"It's almost agonizing to watch." Rick shared.

"What?" Kate asked.

Espo smirked, "No wonder she never puts on weight chasing food like that."

"She eats plenty." Rick replied, "Believe me."

Kate gave up on the honey chicken, "I eat. Okay. Will James' confessed Sierra hired him to take the stalker photos of Jenna and he helped her write the letters. He also admitted he was supplies Sierra with Addmair."

Castle continued as he passed Kate a plastic fork, "She was doping Jenna with Addmair. She was trying to make her seem paranoid around Teddy Farrow. Eat. It's going cold with you mucking around."

Without thought, Kate discarded the chop sticks and stabbed the piece of chicken with the fork. It went straight to her mouth.

"Sierra didn't kill her." Castle said a little taken aback by Kate's odd appetite, "She just drugged Jenna and sent her threatening letters."

"But she did say that Jenna went to Wyatt's place," she said.

Castle said, "The photographer's?"

"Yes. Keep up, Castle." Kate accompanied her response with a bob of her head.

"I'm here." He paused his mind fascinated by how much she could put away. She burned calories at double the speed he did. He was sure, beyond a doubt that was a fact. Hollow legs. Like the way she could drink him under the table. "It was Sierra that said because Jenna wouldn't sleep with him, Wyatt sabotaged her photo shoot."

"Unfortunately, that's quite a common event within the industry," Beckett stated, placing the fork on her plate. "It's like an open secret with the models. They give people of power, in this instance, Wyatt what he wants, and he gives them great shots. If you don't, he can ruin a career. And Sierra said he wanted Jenna."

"Is that experience talking?" Espo asked.

"Men want pretty women." She replied, "No matter what their careers. And according to Sierra, Wyatt made Jenna choose between her career and her marriage vows."

"Nice guy." Rick commented, "But in defence of the male population, we don't all force pretty women to do things they don't want to."

Esposito gave Castle a sideways look of severe disbelief, "You sure about that Castle?"

"Huh?"

"Look at you and Beckett.'"

Kate's eyes widened, fearful this was the undoing of their secret love affair. She felt Rick's right hand rest upon her left knee. He took a secure hold.

"I don't hassle Beckett," he defended.

"Just forced her to have you as her partner." Ryan said.

Kate turned to Rick, "Yeah Rick. I've been forced to suffer your company."

"You're different. You could kill me with your hands or shoot me."

The boys nodded and Esposito said, "Yeah, he's right. He follows you like a puppy. You always wanted a dog."

Kate and Ryan snickered. "More of an old dog,' she teased.

"Alright, had your fun, kids?" Rick inquired of the group, listening to his friends laugh. He picked up a box of Teriyaki chicken and plonked it down in front of her plate. "You keep eating, Beckett."

Immediately, Kate picked up the box.

"So, what happened on Sunday?" Rick asked Ryan, while he watched Kate in amusement.

"That was the last time Sierra saw her alive. Sunday." Ryan replied.

Esposito said, "We got the rundown on Wyatt Monroe. No priors. But turns out his apartment is right next door to the arts center, and his living room overlooks the fountain where Jenna was killed."

Beckett who poked around in the box Rick had passed her, reminded the team, "He lives next to the crime scene."

Ryan said, "We ran that alibi that Wyatt gave you. Witnesses at the Zac Posen party said he left around 11:30."

Castle said, glancing at his lover, "He told us he left at 3 a.m."

"Oh, there's more. We checked with the Teddy Farrow people. They said he got to their party just before midnight," Esposito said.

Beckett swallowed then stated, "He lied to us which led Castle and I to go visit Wyatt Monroe at his apartment.

"Where I found the Christian Louboutin pink satin pumps, on loan from Teddy Farrow."

"Wyatt denied knowing who they belonged to."

Beckett said, "What is this award, Mr. Monroe?"

"And then Beckett saw the glass obelisk on display."

"The Hilo." Kate playfully corrected.

"Oh yes," Castle chuckled, "For excellence in editorial photography."

"Wyatt admitted Jenna was at his place on Sunday night, but she was alive when she left." Kate advised the boys. "He said Jenna had a change of heart. Wanted them to work together from then on as a team."

"Jenna had an app on her phone that taped the whole conversation," Castle said, "She wanted to record him demanding sex for good shots so she could play it for Teddy Farrow."

"They got into a struggle. The Hilo got knocked from a bookshelf, the tip broke off," Beckett said

"Wyatt told us to listen to the recording on her phone. That he was telling the truth." Castle said.

Beckett nodded, "Problem is, her purse was never found. The evidence is lying in a landfill somewhere. Murder solved." Beckett studied a photo of the designer pumps that was on the table beside her plate. She put down the fork and picked up the photo.

Castle who was inquisitive about her interest asked, "What?"

Beckett glanced at Rick, "If Wyatt killed her, why didn't he do a better job of cleaning up his place, I mean, throw out the pumps? And why would he leave her body right outside of his apartment?"

Esposito said, "Maybe he's not that bright."

Beckett said, "Or maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he didn't do it."

"We need to find the phone." Rick said.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

The last thing Castle expected to find when he entered the living room the next morning, was his dear Mother looking over old articles in one of her many scrap books. He fell back onto the couch beside her, releasing a sigh. Both in their PJ's they inspected a photograph of Martha taken about the time he was a baby. He thought about coffee, about how much time he had before he needed to leave for the Precinct.

"What's up with the stroll down memory lane?"

Martha smiled, proudly shared, "I called my agent and told him to pass on the play. I said, Martha Rodgers does not die in the first act, and she never dies offstage."

Castle smiled with amusement, "Feel better?"

"No. I feel rotten and old. I feel like I'm dying offstage. I was always the ingénue. The lead. The star. I liked it that way. It's a powerful thing, kiddo. To be young, beautiful, talented. No woman wants to give it up."

Castle browsed his mother's face with fondness and reached to her hand he took a gentle hold of, "You are still beautiful, and you are still talented. And you didn't give up your youth. You traded it for wisdom."

"Wisdom." She laughed, "Wisdom." She took a black and white photograph of her young self from Castle and held it up beside her head. "Give me that."

They laughed. Castle's phone rang which he swiped to accept the call.

"Rina? Hey, are we still on for that date tonight? Alright. You remember where I live? I'll see you then." He hung up and saw his mother's look. "What?"

"Alexis told me all about it. That girl is too young for you. Or I should say, you are too old for her."

"It is not what you think," Castle said.

Martha gave him a quizzical look, "Oh."

"And unemployed divas who live in glass houses, rent-free, should not throw stones," he added.

"Point taken."

Rick got up to get ready to go into the Precinct. As he walked he sent a text to his girlfriend, checking in for the morning. By the time he was as the bedroom door he knew Kate was at the Precinct, on to something, wanted a coffee, a claw bear and to see him. Apparently, her priorities were in that order.

"Great," he muttered, "I come in after a claw bear."

He wrote he would be there in about 45 minutes.

Castle met Beckett at her desk with two large coffees and two bear claws. She was concentrating on the monitor, her brown furrowed.

Castle asked, as he put down the coffees, "What's the good word?

"Sunshine Electronics." Beckett answered.

Castle said, "That's two words." He sat down on his chair.

"Nope, that's where Jenna McBoyd bought her new cell phone."

Castle said, "What?"

Beckett bounced a little on her seat, which surprised him, "So, I was talking to her husband last night, and on a hunch I asked him about her cell phone. He said it wouldn't accommodate a recording app. So, I checked into her credit card receipts. She bought a new cell phone the day she died. And it had GPS in it, which she had the foresight to switch on."

"You found it?"

Beckett smiled, "In a dumpster on West 81st. Uniforms are bringing it in now."

Rick smiled and leaned in checking there was no one around within hearing distance, "Do you know how cute you look when you've caught a lead? You would be so cute with glasses."

"Black frames?" She whispered with a natural smile. She picked up the brown paper bag and peered inside.

"I could see you in them, yes."

"I've always wanted glasses. Make me look smart." The blurted out.

He chuckled, wondering whether Kate had forgotten where she was. "You are smart. But glasses would make you look bloody hot."

She giggled quietly. In her peripheral vision, she caught sight of Ryan and Esposito returning from the breakroom. The laugh sobered, "So Castle, why aren't you home writing?"

"Coz I'm here."

"Detective Beckett?" A uniformed officer appeared holding a plastic bag that contained a phone.

Kate and Castle looked up at the young woman. "You have the phone?"

"Yes M'am."

"Thank you." Kate took it as she stood up. "We need to run it to the lab first."

Xxxx

An hour or so later, Kate sat with Castle in the viewing room, watching their suspect, Travis McBoyd. Both were wiser and clear with their decision. They had heard the recording on the phone. Beckett was in deep thought, agitated by the recording they had heard. Rick was angry, but he'd learned with Kate to hold it in so as not to make her reactions worse, to cloud her judgement.

She barely blinked as she stared through the glass, thinking. Rick leaned in and quietly inquired, "Are you okay?"

Kate swallowed, nodded the once, then murmured, "At Wyatt's apartment, the fight happened just like Wyatt said it did."

"She knocked over the trophy, it shattered." Rick leaned against the frame, stared at his girlfriend's profile, her eyes straight ahead at the man who patiently waited for their attendance. In his peripheral vision, he could see Travis studied his nails. "She used the trophy as a defensive weapon and cut Wyatt."

Castle continued, "She kept the weapon and took off."

Beckett agreed with a glance to his fact, "She left the place alive."

"He didn't go after her," Rick continued.

"Her husband had followed her to Wyatt's."

"She screamed because of her husband."

Kate inhaled deeply. "Let's get him."

Castle looked into the interrogation room at the deceased's widower, "So, what's our plan?"

Beckett replied, "My aim is to make him confess."

"Arr, but I don't think he's gonna crack that easy, Kate. I mean, what if he figures out we only have a partial recording?" He paused, "That the memory on the phone ran out before the actually murder took place?"

Beckett thought about that, her lips pressed together, then she adamantly replied, "He won't, Castle."

"We, uh... We don't have any proof that he did it. I mean, what if he shuts down and doesn't talk?"

"He won't."

"He's not a stupid man, Kate. He might ask for a lawyer."

Beckett looked at Rick and smiled, softly as she replied, "He won't. Look, let me handle this. You can go in if you want, but don't speak."

"I just..."

"Don't speak," she repeated.

"Okay," he agreed, "Let's do it then." They stared at each other for several seconds before Kate stepped closer to him. Fingers touched the top button of his shirt and her eyes remained on his. Both aware they were alone and couldn't be seen they dropped their guard momentarily.

"I'll get it out of him, Castle. I will play the tape and stop it before it ends."

"Okay."

They left the viewing room and entered Interrogation where Travis McBoyd sat in wait.

There were several minutes of procedural conversation, of Detective Beckett setting up the scene. Once she was done, she placed the phone that had belonged to the late Jenna McBoyd and pressed play.

Jenna's voice angrily asked, "Why did you follow me?"

Travis replied, "Well, it seems like I had a good reason."

Travis sat up, his eyes wide. He held up his hands, "Okay, wait. She was recording me?"

Beckett ignored his question, "You followed her to Farrow's part Sunday night, and then to Monroe's apartment."

"You don't understand, Detective! She just... She'd been acting so strange lately. And then Sierra told me about this photographer."

Beckett asked, "You talked with Sierra about Wyatt Monroe?"

"She was worried about me and Jenna. That it wa.. was more than just business between them. Something was going on. Look, once this was in my head, I …. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Yeah, I followed her to the party. They were together. When she didn't go home and she went to his place instead, I knew."

"Okay, so then you waited."

He looked about the room, then leaned forward and continued, "She came out, her clothes were all messed up. Her lipstick was rubbed off."

"You called her a slut." Kate stated.

"I told her that she was my wife. My wife," he stressed. "And she... She just started crying. She... She said I didn't understand, that I was just like everybody else."

Beckett impatiently explained, "Travis, I can't help you unless you tell me the truth."

Castle who had remained silent as requested, said quite directly, "And then you slapped her hard enough to cut her cheek."

Travis sat up and leaned forward, elbows on the desk, "Look, I didn't mea..." He sat back, looking away, "Look, I just... I couldn't... I couldn't see straight. It's like I wasn't even myself anymore. I was so mad. I just... I didn't even know what I was doing."

"And so, you killed her," Beckett strongly suggested.

Travis panicked, "No! No. I didn't kill her. Teddy did."

Beckett's brow furrowed, but she entertained his suggestion, "Teddy Farrow?"

Frustration and anger flared within Travis, "Oh, man, it was always Teddy. It was Teddy this, Teddy that. Just like, whispering in her ear, you know. Telling her how to walk, how to talk, who to be. Just feeding her mind with lies. I'll tell you what, if anyone did it, it was him."

Beckett said, "It was you, Travis, in the plaza, not Teddy. Standing by the fountain, thinking about all the things you'd done for her. About how you moved to this city that you hated only to be treated like this. Now, she had something in her hands, something sharp. What was it? Travis, do you really want me to turn that tape on? Do you really want to listen to what you said and what you did?"

"She was holding this broken glass. Told me to stay away."

"And so, you took it from her." Beckett suggested.

Travis shrugged, "It just happened."

"What happened, Travis?"

"I... I stabbed her. I stabbed her in the back. She was... She was trying to leave me. I loved her so much. I just... I couldn't let her leave me."

Kate softly said, "She wasn't gonna leave you, Travis." She rewound the recording on the phone, "Listen." She played it.

They heard Wyatt say, _'What the hell! You're recording me?'_

Jenna screeched, ' _Give it back, Wyatt. I- I didn't know what else to do! I- I want the job, Wyatt, but I love my husband. I can't do this to him. I won't! You're hurting me.' She sobbed. 'I just want to go home! I want to go home!'_

Beckett said, "Home. She was trying to go home to you."

Traumatized, Travis put his head in his hands.

Kate stood. "Please remain seated. I'll have someone come into to process you." She walked out of the room with Rick behind her. He closed the door.

She said to Uniformed Officer at the door, "Please read him his rights and let him make his call."

Minutes later, Castle sat on his chair. He said to Beckett, "That was a risky bluff, threatening to play a recording we didn't even have."

"It didn't seem like a risk to me. He loved his wife very much. He wouldn't want to relive her death."

"Well, what about Sierra? What about Wyatt Monroe? They just go free? That doesn't sound like justice."

"Well, I spoke with Teddy Farrow this morning. Now that he understands what those two did to Jenna, he's gonna launch a very different kind of campaign. He's gonna get them blackballed in the industry. No one will hire them again." Beckett replied.

Castle said, "Ah, you mean poetic justice. Well, as a writer, I guess I can live with that."

Beckett said, "I wish I could feel that way. I wish I could feel a sense of victory." She paused, looked over his face, settled on his bright blue eyes, "So, what would Nikki Heat do after a bad day?"

Castle contemplated, "She'd go home, pour a stiff drink, run a hot bath, read a good book."

"Too bad I don't have a good book to read."

"Mmm. I'd let you have Heat Wave, but my publisher doesn't want any copies leaking out."

"Why'd you let that Cosmo reporter read it, then?"

"Well, that's for publicity purposes, Beckett. You know, you want the press to have a little taste of..." His eyes suddenly widened, "Wait, whoa." He sat up, "Is... is that why you've been so upset?" He turned in his seat to face her better, "Because I let her read it before you?"

Beckett gave him a quirky look, "Well, I am the inspiration. I should be reading it before a reporter does."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"Why didn't you just give it to me?"

"Why didn't you ask?"

Beckett frowned, "Why didn't it occur to you?"

Castle stopped. Thought. He shrugged. He can't think of a reason. "You'll have it by tomorrow."

Beckett smiled, "Good."

"Good." He leaned over and whispered, "If my memory serves me correctly, and it does, you did read a draft, sitting upon my lap at the holiday house."

A sheepish grin appeared, "Draft. Not the final, a first copy of the book."

"Oh. I see. I shall remember that for next time."

"Next time?"

"It's my job Kate. I write books." He cutely bit his bottom lip then asked, "And I will never forget you sitting on my lap that day." He saw her blush, a timid smile appear. "Will I see you later? I'd sure like to."

"Mm. Your place?"

He nodded as he stood up straight.

Castle left Kate at her desk smiling. After he was gone, she woke up her computer in order to finish up some paperwork.

Xxxxx

A favourite time of Rick's day was cooking with his daughter. He had taught her to cook, to clean and to care for herself, and now spending time reaping the rewards of his efforts was a privilege.

"I've put in enough pasta to feed Kate, Honey."

"She's staying tonight?"

"Depends on when she finishes at the Precinct." He put his hand on Alexis' shoulder as he inspected the pasta. Alexis transferred the pasta from the strainer into a casserole dish. Her father grabbed the saucepan of sauce and poured it over the pasta.

"Smells delicious, Dad."

"Yep. Just a while in the oven and dinner will be served." He passed her the cheese that she sprinkled over the top.

As Rick carried the dish to the oven, the front door opened and Martha entered.

"Good evening, my dears." Martha called.

Alexis smiled and rushed around the counter to greet her "Hey, there."

Castle visually assessed his mother's persona, her gait, which was light, "You look in brighter spirits. What's changed since this morning?"

"The play that I passed on," she began, "The producers came back with a better offer. I was just at the Dorchester signing my contracts."

"So, you got the lead?"

"Well, no, Richard, but I still play the crazy granny."

"But you... You don't die?" Alexis asked.

"No, still die."

Castle glanced at Alexis then asked, "Alright, so what's the better offer?"

"They have rewritten the script so that I die onstage. My death closes act one. It's better than the lead, really. Granny's the bravura role."

Castle said, "In art, as in life."

Martha said, "Aw."

Alexis gave her grandmother a hug, "I'm so proud of you."

"Aw. Thank you. Thank you, my baby."

There was a knock on the door. They all looked in the direction of the entrance.

Martha asked, "Are we expecting company?

Castle checked the time, "Uh, that's Rina."

Distastefully Martha commented, "Oh, of course. Your date."

"Not my date." He pointed at Alexis, who ran joyously to the entrance. She opened the door and upon seeing each other, the girls giggled and squealed at each other then hugged as long lost friends.

"Hi!" Alexis greeted, "So good to see you."

"Hey! Same. Ready for a High School Musical marathon?"

"I'm so ready." She pushed the door closed.

The girls rushed to the bottom of the stairs.

Castle called with a wave, "Hey, Rina."

"Hi, Mr. Castle."

He checked an incoming text message which caused him to smile.

"Come on." Alexis said to Rina as she commenced to climb the stairs.

Castle said as they watched the girls retreat to Alexis' bedroom, "Color me shocked, but apparently, the modeling world isn't all sexy clothes and fun parties. It occurred to me that if Jenna McBoyd had someone looking out for her a little bit, she might still be alive today. So, if Rina needs a friend, she knows she's got one." He retrieved a bottle of wine from the bar fridge, unscrew.

Martha smiled, accepted the wine her son offered her, "Oh, my son, the big softy. And don't worry, I know you have an image to protect. Your secret's safe with me."

"No need to protect an image of what I'm not. I have what I want, Mother," he stated, his tone full of adoration.

Another knock on the door sounded. "That one will be for me," Rick declared a smile spreading.

"Arr, yes, would that be your lady friend?"

The writer grinned, and pointed towards his front door, "The one who loves my body so much she sometimes giggles helplessly like a teenage girl."

"She adores you, Richard. Go answer the door for her."

"Yes, on my way. She's just come off duty." He shot across the living room to the front door that he opened as keenly as his daughter had. She was there, in casual clothes, her hair tied back and no make-up, an overnight bag on her shoulder. He reached out and took it from her, "Come in."

He stood aside to let her in.

"Babe," she whispered as she passed him, the large hazel eyes not leaving his body. He grunted a response and watched her ass walk towards the kitchen. She smelt delicious. Her hair was washed and wavy. The women greeted with a hug. Rick took the overnight bag to his bedroom.

When he returned to the kitchen, Kate was inspecting the meal that Rick had cooking in the oven. She was famished. His mother had disappeared. He poured two glasses of wine and passed her one. With the drink in his hand he migrated to the couch. He kept a vigil on her noting she picked at a few pieces of vegetables left on the bench. Given a few minutes, with the wine in her hand, she sauntered over to him.

Kate smiled as she approached, "How comfortable you look on the couch, Castle."

He had his nose in a magazine and barely looked up as she approached but he raised his hand to accept her. "C'mere, Honey."

She curled up beside him, his arm over her shoulders, and scanned the page he was reading. "A men's magazine? Different for you."

"I do like to browse them. This one caught my attention." He rested his free hand on her upper arm.

"Mm." She leaned in, studying the picture, "The guy in the picture is wearing a suit that looks a little dated, Rick." She looked at his forearm and stroked her hand up it.

"Must be coming in." He looked down at her hand caressing his arm. It felt good, sensual.

"I don't know whether I'm more hungry for food or you," she whispered and kissed his shoulder beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"You're gonna enjoy dinner." Rick murmured pressed his lips to the side of her head, then turned the page of the magazine. "You love my pasta."

"Mm. Yum." She reached to the coffee table and placed her wine beside Rick's glass. She snuggled in against him.

He cleared his throat to gain her attention.

Rick felt Kate leaned harder against him when she noticed that on the right page there was a picture of a woman who modelled lingerie. Kate instantly recognized the image and gasped. "That's me."

"Huh?"

"Castle." She squeaked and pointed. She sat up. "Castle?" She repeated.

"Mm?" He smiled as she pointed at the magazine. Her jaw had dropped open.

Her hand clutched his wrist, "Oh my God! How did you find that… that magazine?" She stammered.

He laughed at her sheer shock.

"Told you I was good at research." He grinned. "This was taken about eight years ago. You were maybe scraping 22 years of age." He admired the picture. She had long dark hair and a killer body. "You were smoking fucking hot."

Kate attempted to snatch the magazine but he held it out of her reach.

"Where did you find it?"

"I did my research, Baby."

"Where?" She demanded, "Castle?" She was up on her knees, climbed his body until fingers and thumb had a tight grip on the spine of the magazine.

"Beckett." He laughed.

"Give it up." She ordered.

Rick wrapped his spare arm around her body, conscious she risked falling backwards in her clumsiness. He let go of the magazine as she tugged at it but put both hands on her, more than happy she was literally in his safe custody.

She instantly sunk her body across his lap facing him. "I can't believe you found this." She opened the magazine to the page her image was on and looked between him and the picture. "How did you find it? Like, I was so young!"

"You were." He studied the picture magazine, her body on his lap, in his hands. She had fuller cheeks, more of a baby face, and her body was incredibly toned in the photo. "Took me a while but I dug up a few things."

She laughed. "A few things?"

"Mmm… Firstly, your Dad, he's so proud of the work you did and do."

"You went to my Dad?" She sobered, "You all went to my Dad."

"We, me and the boys, had a hunch you really did modelling, that you weren't jerking our chains, so we investigated." He smoothed his fingers up her spine, aware if he touched her as he did, the tension built up from the day would fade off.

"That's how they came up with the picture in the tennis dress."

Rick nodded, grinning. "Your Dad. He was dying to see your reaction." He tilted the magazine, "I hunted the vintage places, put in some serious hours, gave up and summoned the courage to call your Dad."

"He helped."

"He sure did."

"It was just a phase, to pay my way through college."

He shook his head in objection, watched her eyes widen, felt her left hand grip his shoulder. "You love it." He stated, "When we were at the Teddy Farrow event your eyes were glistening and as large as saucers."

"No-"

"Don't bother denying it, Beckett. I saw you caught up in the atmosphere. You were in your element, like my mother walking into a theatre."

"Castle." She gushed, as she put the magazine down on the couch beside them. Both arms rested on his shoulders. "I cannot believe you did that." She bit her bottom lip, tilted her head to the side, gazing into his eyes.

"Was hard work."

"Mmm." She stroked his head, "You know the truck at the end of my bed?"

"Very well. Yes." He chuckled, "Great memories."

"Yes. Well, Ricky, inside the box I have printed modelling stuff." She pressed her lips together, refraining a giggle that wanted to burst out of her when she saw his expression, his frown.

"Really? Jesus."

She nodded, holding back a smile that was trying to burst from her.

His head slumped back in exasperation. "I never thought of looking in there. Fuck."

"I bet."

"Everywhere but there," he groaned, staring at the ceiling, "Damn it. So much time spent researching and it was right under my nose."

"Well, your feet." She giggled, finding it all very funny because she knew he would have spent hours hunting for stuff.

"That's right, you think it's hilarious."

"If you saw inside the box you would too."

"Let me guess." He raised his head, to look at her, "Its full of stuff?"

She laughed, "Yes."

"Your Father has a collection."

She nodded, "Ricky." She whispered. "So many layers of that onion huh?"

He smiled, "Yes. Speaking of food, I can smell dinner." He patted her backside. "Let's go eat."

"Yes, I'm starving." She stood off him.

"Same. Alexis has Rina with her."

Kate sobered, "Does she know about us?"

"We sit and eat at the table, you dropped by. Simple."

"Okay."


	58. Chapter 58

This is just a fun chapter, a no brainer to simply read ... hope you enjoy it and thank you for your comments **.**

 **Chapter 59**

The table they surrounded was boisterous with energetic conversation about work stories. There was a large tray chicken wings and a bowl of chips on the middle of the table, now mostly consumed, that Castle had ordered along with a further round of drinks. They were having fun. Esposito was getting fresh with Lanie who was playing along for the fun of it. The doctor was also on her phone texting Beckett who, according to the communications, had decided not to attend the evening get together.

"She's texted she's tired and she's gonna stay at home." Lanie said over the table to Rick, who in response shrugged his shoulders.

"She's probably reading a book. She likes her quiet time." In fact, when Rick had left Kate's apartment, she had been soaking in the bathtub a book in her hand, totally disinterested in going out drinking. No amount of persuasive conversation had made her change her mind. Aware his girlfriend enjoyed alone times, he decided to let her have it.

"She needs a social life." Lanie replied as she placed her phone face down on the table and replaced it with a glass.

"Who knows, she might just turn up." Rick said as he played with the wet glass his Scotch on the rocks was in. The ice cubes clinked about. Between Lanie and Esposito's shoulders, his eyes repeatedly and casually went. Beyond them was what truly had his attention.

The drink was taking longer than usual to consume, mainly because he was focussed on a tall brunette woman who had entered the bar about a quarter hour ago. What maintained his visual was how much she reminded him of Beckett. If he didn't know better, he'd swear on a stack of bibles that the long bare legs on the woman in the boots belonged to his girlfriend. She was equally as tall, perhaps a little slender than Kate, if that was possible, and her hair was dark brown and dead straight. A short time ago, like perhaps a quarter hour earlier, the woman had sat at the end of the bar, with a drink as company. He thought she'd ordered a Scotch on the rocks. During the short time she'd been there, she had politely declined four guys advances.

The mannerisms were different to Kate. Her jaw was more pointed, her cheeks more prominent. She wore plenty of jewellery.

He tipped his beer to his mouth and took a decent swig of the cold drink.

"Hey Big Fella?" Montgomery said.

Rick looked to the Captain with a smile.

He continued, "You noticed you're being watched?" Montgomery asked as he gave Castle a nudge with his shoulder. The writer instantly laughed, leaned into the Captain's touch. He acted surprised at first, when he followed the Captain's eye line, but then relaxed.

"I've seen her." Rick dismissively said, "She's probably a fan who recognised me. It happens."

"Well, my friend, she is making a modest effort to gain your attention."

Both men subtly gazed over the venue, Rick eyes drawn to her body that beautifully filled out the black tight dress. She wore a black leather jacket and ankle boots. Lengthy bare legs were crossed. "She is gorgeous." Rick stated, "Very nice."

"She's exotic."

"You have that right."

"You're a single man," Montgomery encouraged. "Go for it."

"I'm single," he agreed, "But I don't think Detective Beckett would approve."

"She's not here," he replied looking around them. "And she's not with you."

"She could be a dominatrix." Rick choked out referring to the woman at the bar, but he was aroused by the thought of being under Kate's submission. An image of Beckett standing provocatively at the end of the bed, in black lingerie, dangling cuffs from her fingers came to the fore front of this thoughts. He cleared his throat. A good part of him wanted to return to her place. However, it was time to pretend he was single, to take one for the team, for the preservation of his secret love affair with Beckett. He only needed to have the detectives and medical examiner believing he was a bachelor.

He stood. Idly gazing at the woman. There was a man in his forties lingering by the woman.

"Want another drink?" He asked, deciding he would investigate the woman who promptly told the man to fuck off. It was easy for Rick to lip read. He smiled when the woman trained her eyes back on him.

"I'm buying another round of drinks." He stated as he stood off the chair.

He weaved his way through the tables and chairs, to a place at the bar nearby the woman. As he gained ground on her, he saw just how beautiful she was. Tall, athletic, perhaps of eastern European origin. At the bar he ignored her, busy with gaining the attention of one of the four barmen.

"What can I get you?"

"Four Canadian Club beers and a Scotch on the rocks for the lady to my left in the black." He shot a glance to her as the barman did. There was something interesting about her and he wanted to know more.

"Sure. I'll check she'll accept it first." The barman took cash from Rick and made a direct line to the woman. He spoke several words. She nodded then looked at Rick, giving him a bit of a shy but nonetheless provocative smile. Dark eyeshadow, heavy eyeliner and mascara were applied to her eyes and her full lips were coloured a rich red, the colour he was drawn to. Again, there was something familiar about her. She was edgy. Had a presence. The barman poured the drink Scotch then collected the bottles of beer. He passed Rick the change, then stepped to the woman and placed the glass of golden brown liquid on the bar. Once again, she gave a nod to the barman then looked to Castle who smiled. She was stunning. Model material. The make up applied to her large brown eyes was quite heavy but nicely done. Somewhere deep inside his instincts were aroused. She was sensual and he wanted to know more about her.

He glanced at the time. It was almost ten thirty. He was due to go home to Kate's place by eleven thirty. The beers he'd ordered arrived. He thanked the barman and gave the woman a final scan. She was a beautiful woman but she also looked mighty dangerous.

The men accepted the beer and they clinked bottles before taking a mouthful.

"Did you say anything to her?"

"I bought her a drink. See if that lures her in," Rick replied sitting back on the seat where he could easily watch the woman. He re-joined the conversation and pulled his phone out of his pocket to check if Kate had contacted him. Nothing.

Inquisitive, he texted Beckett. _Hey Hon, what you doing?_

"Eight hundred words." Rick replied to Ryan question. "Minimum per day."

"Every day?" Ryan asked.

Rick gave a nod as he read Kate's response.

 _Reading in bed._

"Do you write only one story?"

"No. I have several stories. Sometimes I write letters." He replied, then smirked when he saw Lanie's expression, "Yes, and sometimes I write sexual stories, Lanie." The table broke into laughter.

Rick tapped back to Kate, _Ok. Don't start without me. I'll be home soon._

Seconds later her reply came. _Hurry._

He put the phone away, a smile over his face, then glanced to the woman who stared at her phone, her left thumb swiping the screen. Her eyes flickered to his, and she stopped fiddling with the phone. Her eyes stayed on him as she finished her drink. She put the glass down, stood up and shook off the leather jacket.

The writer almost choked on his drink at the sight of her body in the fitted black sleeveless dress tight dress. Elegantly she walked towards him. Beside Rick, Montgomery gave him a nudge.

"She's coming." The Captain said. "My Lordy she is stunning."

Rick smirked, listened to Esposito pray in Mexican. Rick prayed in simple English that he wished Kate had decided to join them tonight. "I'm in so much trouble." He replied to Montgomery.

"I think this woman could kill with her bare hands." Montgomery stated.

"Yo, writer boy, you're getting …."

Rick waved off Espo's comment as he stood up to greet the woman who approached. His body responded the same way it did whenever Kate was with him - the chemical reaction was identical. The woman stopped in front of him, toe to toe.

"You've been observing me," she stated with a strong eastern European accent, a soft, seductive tone. Brown eyes scanned his features, then flickered between his lips and eyes.

"You remind me of someone," he replied, not hiding his inspection of the woman. Closer, she was more shapely than he'd noticed at the bar. The black dress was low cut, exhibiting a lovely full cleavage and tastefully showed of her long slender legs. Her waist was fine, slim. Gorgeous dark eyes.

She leaned in so he would hear her over the noise of the patrons, "A good reminder?"

"Very good, yes."

"As sensual as me?"

He smiled, amused by her brazen approach, attracted to the way she was telling him she wanted to fuck him. He leaned back, gazed down the black dress to her boots, back up to her eyes and gave a simple nod, "She'd give you a run for your money."

"Really?"

"She would, but she's not here."

"She let you out on your own?" She tempted.

Rick was focused on her lips, generously covered with red lipstick. He loved red lipstick. He'd seen it end up all sorts of places in his life time. Yes, it brought back some very fond memories. So, did her height, something he liked in women. She was surprisingly tall, almost level with him in the _fuck me_ boots she wore. The lean body screamed at him she wanted him. She was every man's fantasy.

The accent was cute, "You live around here?"

"On vacation, looking for … how do you Americans say it, some good times?"

"A good time," he corrected, staring directly into large brown eyes. He would let this go on for a bit then would pull the pin. He knew Montgomery suspected Beckett and he were sleeping together, so he needed to keep it cool.

Long fingers softly stroked above his belt buckle which caused him to glance down at her hand then back at her eyes. She came in closer. "Will you do that? Will you show me a good time?"

He swallowed, sensed the table of his friends were watching him with the woman. She smelt exotic, of jasmine, and something he didn't recognise. Whisky was on her breath. The drink he'd bought.

She had crept in closer, and she quietly said, "You are a very good looking man."

"Handsome," he suggested and placed a hand to her hip. She didn't react, didn't object. "Ruggedly so."

"Handsome." She repeated with an accent. The beer was put down on the table. He needed two hands for this woman. She was deserving of his full attention.

"What is your name handsome man?"

"Do I need to have a name? What is your name?"

She bit her bottom lip, smiled, then purred out, "Katarina. Kat. You can call me Kat."

"Alexander," he replied, "I'm Alex."

"Alex?" She hooked her finger into his, "Come Alex." She shot her eyes to a seat. He followed and at the point she was about to sit he hooked his arm around her slight waist and pulled her into his embrace, her face very close to his.

Rick felt the heat of her breath, dared himself to kiss this woman. He did, his hand reaching into her hair. And he found he couldn't stop, couldn't pull away.

She pushed softly to his chest breaking their kiss.

Rick scanned her face, "What would you like to do."

"Take me home with you."

The writer moistened his lips, touched her upper arm. "Let me get me jacket."

He let her go, turned to the table and grabbed his jacket. He said to the group, "I'll see you guys on Monday."

He saw their expressions, the signs they thought he was cheating on their colleague, their friend. With a hand to the small of her back he left the venue.

In the sedan, on the way back to his apartment, Katarina straddled his lap, their lips locked together. City lights flashed through the windows. They barely spoke a word. They were hungered. Crazy for other.

"Hey love birds?" The driver called.

Rick pulled back, his hair ruffled, his lips smeared with lipstick. He looked to the driver, a crooked smile appearing. "Wow, that went fast." His partner looked around them through the windows.

"Sure did. You're home, Romeo."

"Thanks." He opened the car door, allowed the woman time to unpeel herself from his lap, taking the hand held out for him as he followed her out of the vehicle. He walked her inside the lobby to the waiting elevator. The security card was scanned so he could press on the floor they were headed to. The door closed, he pushed her gently to the wall his left hand between her thighs. It excited him she wanted him that much.

They kissed, hungered for each other, as they had been in the car, their bodies pressed together. Her hips pushed against him, grinding her pubic bone on his groin. A soft sweet groan of pure want came from her. The tone set in motion his desire to have more.

The elevator tinged and the doors opened.

"Come." He found her hand and led her into theHe grabbed at her dress, pulling it up as he backed her up to the bedroom. Their trip to the bed was jagged, Rick spending most of his time holding the woman so she remained vertical while he tried to keep up with her.

The bedroom door was shoved shut with a kick of his leg.

He lifted the woman off her feet, in a hurry to get her to the bed.

"You're so strong, Alex." She laughed.

Rick also laughed out loud, and hoisted her body up high to secure her, "Oh, Kate, you were fucking awesome tonight. You had me guessing for a while."

"When did you realise it was me?" She gasped out as he lowered her to the bed.

"The closer you came." He touched over his heart, "Sure it was you. Then you glanced between my lips and eyes, the way you do that. We kissed, I really knew then." His hands ran up the length of her left leg to the boot that he pulled off. "The taste of you. The way you kiss." He dropped the boot to the floor as he pressed his lips to the arch of her bare foot watching her toes curl and stretch and it caused her to giggle like a girl which he loved to hear. Her laughter.

"I slipped up." She held up her right leg for him to take of the second boot. He obliged.

"Sure did. The brown contacts in your eyes put me right off."

"They're crazy."

"Your accent was phenomenal. Your movement was different. You took on a whole new persona. You should take up acting."

"Ha." Kate giggled, "I bet your mom wouldn't be impressed. "Thought I had you totally fooled." She said, and stroked his jaw.

"I was playing along with her, well you, and let the flirting go on, let the guys think I'm single. When I knew it was you, well, then I really got into it. So fucking hot as Katarina, Baby." He coerced her to the middle of the bed, held both her feet and once she was comfortable he widened her legs apart appreciating how relaxed she was. How much she trusted him. The desire to have her was overwhelming him.

"You like foreign girl, Richard?" She asked using the accent again.

He laughed. "I love foreign girl."

They both paused, stared at each other and Kate's mouth fell open a little as though she was about to say something. He let go of her feet, that instinctively bent at her knees when he lowered his body between her legs and covered her. He smiled softly, brushed the hair of the wig from her face.

"But it's you I really love," he whispered.

"You love me?"

Brown eyes welled up. He smiled as he replied, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life." Long slender fingers caressed his jaw. He murmured, "Don't cry."

"No." She grasped his cheeks, raised her head to kiss him at which second, he met her half way, kissing her slowly, deeply.

Out of breath they broke, "I wish I could see your eyes right now."

She smiled, "Contacts. They are itchy."

He pulled back, knelt on the mattress and tugged her to a sit, "Go take them out. I'll get the mood happening."

She hurried off to the en suite. For the time she was gone, which he was certain would be about eight minutes, Rick worked like a mad man. He fetched a half dozen candles from the large selection Kate had collected for years. She had transported probably half her stock to his loft once the nights started growing cooler. He placed them in the usual places and lit each wick as he went.

"Babe?" Kate called.

"Yeah?"

"Do you realise it's seven months since we started dating?"

For some reason, he had to look at the time after he lit a wick. "About a week over." He called back. "Are you ready yet?"

"Gotta brush my teeth."

He had two minutes.

With the ambience sorted to capture right mood, he managed to fit in a couple of dozen push ups to have his muscles pumped. Who said he wasn't vain. He wanted to be attractive for Kate, because she sure as hell took care of her body.

By the time she returned the bedroom, the lights were out, candles were aglow, the bedsheets were pulled down. His body was naked and tactfully positioned on the bed ensuring his chest was prominent. She appeared, her hair down, wearing only a white lace bra and thong panties.

"Oh Castle, you got out the candles." She gleefully exclaimed.

"I did." He smugly smiled, "C'mere."

She took the two steps to his bed and crawled across it to him. He smiled looking into her eyes. "Arr yes. Hazel eyes are back."

"Shut up, writer boy." She hissed, giving him a gentle push to lay right down. Her fingers trailed down his chest making a direct line to his groin. A naughty smile appeared as she looked from his engorged cock to his bright blue eyes.

"I dare you." He whispered.

"Oh Ricky, you're a sitting duck."

His right eyebrow shot up. A gasp escaped him as her lips clamped over him.

"You are in for a night, Honey." He groaned, closing his eyes to thoroughly enjoy his girlfriend.

"Nobody will notice it." Rick insisted. Internally he was laughing so hard he barely maintained composure. He stepped into a fresh pair of boxers, fixed them to his hips at the place he preferred the band to sit, then looked at Kate who was busy studying the right side of her neck in the bathroom mirror.

"Everyone will notice it, Castle. What will I say? That I'm dating you?"

"Yeah. Sure. No, don't say that. Keep us a secret. Anyways, I went home, Beckett, with my eastern European one night stand remember?" He replied, "I wasn't with you."

Kate spun around and faced up to him. "Various parts of you, including your thing were inside me most of the night, and it was you who latched on to my neck."

"My thing?" He squeaked, "Just to clarify here, Detective Girlfriend, it was my thing that had you powerfully grinding against me and you were talking dirty things in my ear. Foul things. I got right into the moment by the way. My sign of affection there, had you climaxing."

"Sign of affection?" She scoffed. "Fucking hell, Rick." She spun back around to once again to examine the hickey on her neck a grimace over her face.

"Don't they have make up for that sort of thing?" He carefully asked waggling an index finger near her neck. He immediately heard the deep growl bleed from her throat. He avoided connection with her eyes mainly because he feared he would laugh when she was taking it very seriously. He threw the towel over the rail to dry.

He felt her eyes on him and via the mirror he saw she was checking out his bare chest. A smirk escaped him, "Yeah, it was so worth it, Beckett. You enjoyed every second of it."

In response Kate laughed as she strongly scoffed, "I did not."

"No fucking way. When I had my face …"

"That part was great." She cut off, blushed, then focussed on the circular bruise. "Jesus, Castle how hard did you latch on?"

"Latch on? C'mon! I-" He paused, saw the laughter begin to spill from her, "Yes, I sucked. Okay?"

"Hard." She replied as she tapped over the bruise.

"Nothing on what you can do. You're like a vacuum." He grinned and copped the fist that hit his shoulder. "Hey, that was a compliment."

"Sure."

"You have a heap of scarves." He offered up as he followed her from the bathroom to her bedroom.

"It's not exactly scarf wearing weather, Castle."

"Okay," he replied, pausing to watch her strut about the bedroom in her underwear. She was so cute, "So we're back on use the make up."

"I have no choice, Castle. There's no hiding this one."

"You'll be fine, Honey. Hurry up. We have a murder."

"Lucky there isn't one here this morning," Beckett retaliated.


	59. Chapter 59

_Apologies for the delay … I have been writing this chapter for a while. The blending of the original and the AU stories, was a little more detailed than it has been which has caused the chapter to be longer. It shifts into M zone for those who enjoy a bit of fluff… so enjoy._

"Here we go," Kate sighed the second her Police phone pinged with an incoming text message. She turned the phone over in her hand and leaned towards Castle as he did.

"Lanie?" He inquired. It was rhetorical.

"Mm." They read the text.

 _Hey girl. Heads up. Writer boy left the bar with a gothic woman last night._

"Gothic?" She asked looking at his eyes.

"Arrrhh… gothic, no. Fucking sexy hot woman yes," he whispered close to her ear. As the elevator came to a halt he stepped away, but said, "And I mean that."

Kate bit her bottom lip, and gave him the sexiest look she could muster before she moved closer to the elevator doors when they opened.

"Lunch in a hotel room today, Beckett," he strongly suggested when he followed her out the elevator and fell in beside her.

"Sure," Kate replied, a devilish smile growing, "I would love to break my lunch time PB." She looked at him with, then ahead. She missed the expression she caused, missed the way he stared at her ass as she walked into the bull pen.

On the way to her desk, she tapped a message to Lanie.

 _He's allowed. You know he likes his bimbos._

The phone was discarded on her desk and she dumped her bag on the floor beside the chair.

"Morning Beckett," Esposito greeted as Beckett sat down and Castle pulled off his jacket. It was odd that they arrived at the same time first thing in the morning. He stopped near Beckett's desk holding a mug of fresh steaming coffee from the coffee machine.

"Morning." Beckett and Castle replied simultaneously.

"You two catch a ride in together this morning?"

"Uh, no." Rick casually replied, glancing at Beckett who gave a slight pause as she sat at her desk. He'd heard the tone in Esposito's question as had Kate. "Just timed it…. I went for my coffee… Beckett's running late." He shrugged dissmissively.

"Not running late, Castle, you're early," Beckett shot back as she turned on her desk top computer.

Esposito gave Beckett a quizzical look. "Hey Beckett, is that a hickey on your neck?" He pointed right at the supposedly well concealed bruise on Kate's neck.

"No." She replied sharply, maintaining great strength to not shoot Rick a dark look nor cover the bruise with a hand. That would be an immediate concession. She said, "There's nothing there."

Esposito instantly laughed, glancing to Castle and Ryan. For once, Rick didn't join in. He quietly sipped his coffee and stared ahead, reminiscing about how that hickey, which was most definitely present on her neck, got there. He'd certainly been in the moment when he'd put it there. How had she termed it? Latched on. He smirked to himself. Another great time with his girlfriend who was consequently under sufferance at the moment.

Ryan opted to remain out of the conversation and instead, focussed on his computer monitor.

"Castle," Beckett hissed in warning. "Wipe it." Her fingers whipped across her face.

Castle's gaze turned to Beckett, his smirk morphed to a smile and he ignored her demand. "So, Beckett, we were all out together drinking. What did you get up to?"

Refusing to look at him she calmly replied, "I stayed in. Alone." She sat back, took her coffee cup. "So Rickie, a little birdie told me you went home with some gothic woman."

"Gothic? No. Exotic? Yes." He gave a nod, sat forward and replied, "Yes. I did. Had the best.."

"Castle." She warned.

"What?" He looked to the boys who'd sprung up to gather around the desk to hear.

"We don't need to hear about your…"

A hand waved her off. "Yes, we do…" Esposito said. "So, what happened, Castle? Did you get…."

Castle cleared his throat. He could feel the pressure from Kate to keep his mouth shut. "Let's just say I did the walk of shame early this morning."

"Yes!"

"Ewwwwhhh."

"She was gorgeous." Esposito stated mostly at Kate's disgust.

With the boys unable to see her face, Kate let her jaw hang open in horror. They were drooling over her without even knowing it. Rick sat there like the cat who got the mouse. He did get the mouse. A few times.

Kate cleared her throat "Go easy boys. This is umm-" she hesitated, glancing at the writer, "Ricky's personal life, even if he does like to share."

"Not sharing," he replied. "Everyone in the group saw me leave with a European woman. As Espo said, she was gorgeous." He raised an eyebrow. "You jealous?"

Kate's brow furrowed. Her eyes darkened. "No. No!" She abruptly stood with her coffee, pointed at the break room. "I'm going over there while you men get this out of your system, whatever it is." She huffed and stormed off to the breakroom. The second she was gone the boys put their heads together. Kate pretended to drink her coffee while she peered through the blind at them.

Her phone pinged in her pocket with another text. She pulled it out and unlocked it. Lanie had sent a text that read.

 _Had you been there, it could have been you who left with Castle._

She released a giggle. "If only you knew."

She wrote back.

 _Ewwgghh. I read a book._

The boys laughed aloud from the bullpen, most likely at Castle's fabricated story of his evening with the European woman.

Seconds later, Lanie bounced back.

 _That's why you're still single._

 _And I'm fine with that._

Movement out in the bull pen caught her attention. Esposito waved at her holding his phone.

"A body has dropped, Beckett." He called.

She nodded and returned to the bull pen. Esposito passed her a sheet of paper he had written an address on. She read it, reaching for her coat that Rick held up for her.

"An art gallery?" She asked.

"Yeah." Esposito replied, "We'll meet you there. You need to put some concealer on the hickey, Beckett."

Kate instantly covered the bruise with a hand, then swept her hair forward. She glared at the detective who laughed. "Shut up, Espo."

"Beckett." Rick called, mainly to bring her back to him. She obeyed and slipped her arms into the sleeves of her coat that he held up. "Ignore him, Kate." He whispered.

A sigh of frustration came from her, "It's…" She stopped.

"I know." Rick cut in, "I promise I won't leave one in a visible place again." He glanced to her then returned his eyes to the road ahead. He'd been given the keys to drive so she could fix up the make up.

She glared at him, "When Lanie finds out-"

"Oh. She won't find out." He replied.

"Esposito." They said together.

"Castle, should I tell her about us?"

"No. Tell Lanie, she will tell Xavier. He has loose lips and will tell Ryan." He glanced at the buildings. "I must be close."

Kate pointed to the building, "Right there."

"You used to have benefits with your personal trainer right?"

"Um… how do you know?" She cautiously inquired, licking her neck with the make up sponge.

"I'm a writer Kate."

"How?"

"I've seen how he looks at you."

"Looks at me?"

"C'mon, you work out in your skimpy lycra pieces and when he can check out your perfect ass, he does like a man who's been there."

"Are you telling me to tell the masses I hooked up with my personal trainer last night?"

"Well, you did train with him last night, right?"

"Yes."

He killed the engine and looked at Beckett, "So I didn't see you last night, which means you could have hooked up with him."

"You're okay with me saying that."

"Of course I am. We're both single. I fucked some woman named Katerina, and you were going at it with the trainer. Covers everything including that hickey I completely enjoyed marking you with." He smirked with pride.

"Marking me? What is this?"

"I don't know. Blowing smoke…" He pretended to be distracted and pointed, "Look! A dog, Kate. Isn't she beautiful?"

Kate grunted, but peered over to the side walk just as her cell phone started to ring. She looked at the screen. "Its Lanie. She knows. And Castle, we're not finished with the marking me talk."

"Yes, we are." He replied and waved a finger at her work phone, "Here's your opportunity, Beckett. Rise to the occasion with Lanie." He got out the car and closed the door.

Kate answered her phone. "Hi Lanie."

"Hey. Have you got something to tell me?"

"Espo has loose lips?" Kate responded and smiled because of what she saw Rick doing. He was down on his knees on the side walk, getting friendly with a retriever that was excited about the attention.

Lanie giggled. "Yes. That he does. Who did it?"

"Who did it?" Kate asked her voice up an octave. She stepped out of the car and buttoned up the red coat. It was a little chilly.

"Espo said you have a love bite on your neck."

"I know he did." She sighed then quickly said in hushed tones, "I was with my personal trainer last night. Got lucky."

"Hook up with the trainer?"

"Mmm… Things got a little rough."

"Rough?"

"Carried away?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Lost in the moment. Been a while since I've been with him."

"Oh. Clearly. Haven't heard about him for a while," Lanie said.

"Yeah. Well, he's been, he's been busy." She laughed, "You should see Castle, Lanie. He's on one knee fussing over a dog."

"He should be fussing over you, girl."

"Yeah, well…. He likes bimbos, not women like me."

"He likes you. Take the glasses off. We need to catch up. Tonight for dinner?"

"Sure. I'll text you later about that. Have you been called out to the body at the gallery?"

"Yeah. Here now."

"I'm out on the street. See you up there." Beckett closed the connection and pocketed the phone as she stepped to the curb. Her boyfriend was at the dog's level petting the dog who was responding with a ton enthusiasm. On several occasions, Rick had said he would like to get a dog when he settled down and here he was over this one like a rash. It made her love him a little bit more and she couldn't resist asking, "On one knee, Castle?"

Castle said to the dog, "That's a good girl." He then looked at Kate, as he stood up "I am."

"What's up? You proposing?" She inquired with an inquisitive raise of an eyebrow.

Castle tidied his clothing, wearing a boyish grin, "Oh, no. Just waiting for you." He replied then realized what he said when he saw Kate's eyes widen. To rescue the moment, he held up his phone, "Was it a painful conversation?"

She shrugged, "Not too bad. Lanie thinks I hooked up with the trainer last night, all night." She commenced to walk towards the building the police were hanging about the doorway to.

"All night?" Rick asked as he caught up with her.

"My narrative. All night."

"Fair enough. I did the walk of shame this morning."

"My place. We fucked at my place, the trainer and I."

Rick nodded. "Alright, then.

They took the stairs to the first floor gallery. On the way Beckett commented, "You two make a cute couple, Castle."

Castle gave her a smart ass smirk, "Yeah. Hey, you think I should get a dog?"

She paused half way up a flight of stairs, "What am I, your wife?"

Castle smiled, amused, and made the decision to play along. Esposito and Ryan must have already arrived by the way she was digging at him. "Yeah, you're my work wife."

"No, I'm not your work wife." She replied then continued up the stairs.

"I could get a bloodhound." He continued caught up in his own imagination, "I could name him Sherlock, and then I could- I could bring him to crime scenes."

"No, you couldn't."

They entered the art gallery which was mostly barren but for the paintings hanging along the walls.

"Oh, what? It'd be adorable. I could get him to wear a little Sherlock hat, train him how to carry a little magnifying glass." Rick paused when he saw Kate's expression of distaste, "Oh, see," he stated, "Right there. Disapproving, judgmental. You're totally my work wife." He then followed her eye line where he saw a body slumped in an uncomfortable twist on the floor, blood pooled on the floor. "Hmm. The blood's bold, but it works."

Beckett glanced at Rick, "Not sure he'd agree."

"Hmm. Well, obviously, he was into art."

Esposito frowned at Rick who observed the art work. He said to Beckett, "The vic is Victor Fink, forty-three, and he's the gallery owner. There's no sign of forced entry. Tenant upstairs called in gunshots to nine-one-one at ten fourteen pm."

"Thanks." Beckett said, "Any idea what he was doing here so late?"

"No," replied Xavier, "But according to his assistant, Darius Langley, they close at eight. As far as he can tell, there's nothing missing off the walls or from the back. Nothing taken over night."

Castle pointed at the bubble security cameras to each corner, "Anything off those security cameras?"

Esposito took a casual gaze to the security cameras. "Fake." He stated. "Not even hooked up."

Beckett sighed, "Lucky break for the guy."

"Unless he knew." Castle suggested, "Just like he knew Fink was working late and alone."

"Or made plans to meet him here," Beckett replied, "Can you please check with the assistant, Espo?"

Esposito nodded then departed leaving Castle and Beckett with the body and the medical examiner who approached, a mischievous expression quite obvious.

"He had some fight in him." The doctor said, her eyes locking on the side of Kate's neck, exactly where the bruise was. Kate's eyes doubled in size as her fingers felt whereabouts the mark was. Her cheeks colored. Lanie continued speaking, now directing her attention on the deceased as she pointed with a biro, "Abrasions on the forearms, on the hands." She then shot a look at Kate's wrists. "Mm."

Beckett cleared her throat, disliking the squeeze coming from Lanie. She was aware Rick was secretly laughing his ass off about Lanie's subtle digs. There was a smug look on his face she dearly wanted to smack off. She rose above it, inspected the wounds Lanie had referred to then stated, "He fought."

"And then he made a run for the stairs." Lanie continued.

"Only to be shot in the back." Rick finished.

"Twice, nine millimeter. Shooter fired from over here." Esposito explained as he returned in the company of a young man wearing a artsy styled coat and scarf. When Kate saw her coworker she almost jumped at the opportunity he gave her to escape the corner she had been backed into by Lanie. "Excuse me for a minute." She said.

Beckett quickly turned her attention to Esposito, relieved to escape the death squad of one, being Lanie. If they went out for dinner later, she would have to concoct a story as to how the hickey got there. She would seek the writer's counsel before meeting the doctor. He'd have a story up his sleeve.

"… He'd already left by the time I locked up at eight." Darius Langley responded to the detective's question and Kate waited for him to finish speaking and for Esposito to hand over the conversation.

"Mr Langley? I'm Detective Kate Beckett. How long have you been Mr Fink's assistant?"

"Two months. I'm an art student. I take night classes at Tisch."

"Is that where you were last night?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. Mr Fink totally supported me being in school, he'd let me leave early to make classes."

Beckett smiled and gave a nod, "Do you know if Mr. Fink had any enemies? Any unhappy clients or artists?

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I can get you a contact list, if you like."

"Yes, please." Beckett replied.

Darius gestured for her to wait a moment then left the detectives to retrieve the list. Meanwhile, Ryan approached.

"Hey. We got a little problem." Ryan began, glancing between Esposito and Beckett.

Beckett responded, "Mm-hmm?"

"We dug these two slugs out of the wall." He pointed to where the forensic guys worked and held up a plastic bag that contained two spent bullets, "We dug these two out of the wall and Dr. Parish has another two in our vic here."

Esposito smirked, "So, our perp's not a sharpshooter."

"But we've only found four bullets, and there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 shell casings on the ground."

Castle who overheard the conversation, searched the floor said, "There's no blood trail leading out of here."

"Exactly. And not a drop of blood outside of the spatter from our vic here." Ryan replied.

Beckett unconsciously searched all around them for any sign of another victim but there was nothing other than the body Lanie Parish worked on. "So, there's no second victim."

Castle who had also engaged in a visual hunt, gave everyone a glance and asked, "So, where's the fifth bullet?"

Uniformed Officer Marino entered the bull pen mid-afternoon with a tall, good looking gent perhaps in his mid-thirties at his side. He waved to Detective Ryan who happened to look up with the bell of the elevator had tinged, "Hey, Ryan. Got a sec?"

"Sure," Ryan replied, "Witness?"

"Not exactly." Marino replied, and glanced to the guy, "Hang here, buddy, okay?"

The guy stopped, unsure of himself and the environment he was now in, "Of course."

Marino stood by Kevin Ryan and said, "I found him on the canvass, by the art gallery."

"He isn't a witness?"

"Yeah, no. I mean, the guy's got no wallet, no ID. He wasn't making sense when I questioned him so I thought I had better bring him in."

"Okay," Ryan rubbed his chin, thought for a moment or two, "Did you ask him his name?"

"Yeah, I asked him his name, I asked him where he lived, you know." He took a deep breath and scratched his head, "Here's the funny part, Kev."

"What is it?"

"The guy says he don't remember."

Kate plonked herself in the lounge chair in the break out room, stirring a cup of soup. Rick was at the coffee machine, playing out the entire interview with Angelica Fink, the victim's wife, almost word for word. She couldn't believe Rick was able recollect the conversation, but he also made it funny. She took a sip of soup as she listened to his recite.

"Did my husband have enemies?" He mimicked as he scooped coffee, his voice high pitched. He looked at Beckett.

"Apparently so," he continued. "Every artist who couldn't get in his gallery, and every artist who was in his gallery was an enemy. He'd sell, like, five pieces, and they'd want to know why he didn't sell six." He hit the button and the machine commenced to run hot water through the coffee.

He cupped his chest like he was grabbing breasts and turned to Beckett, "What am I supposed to do with these, huh? I didn't want them. I did them for him, and now he's dead." He playfully squawked his eyes wide. Then he grinned because Beckett was laughing at his antics.

Kate lightly scorned, "Stop it Castle."

"Rocco, the flea is the accused." He went on which caused Kate to laugh harder. During the interview with the deceased's wife she's had to restrain herself, but now in the breakroom with the doors closed she laughed her ass off.

Castle went on with his monolog performance. "Victor Fink's old assistant. He fired that little insect over money. Rocco went crazy, made all kinds of threats. Rocco, he wasn't even a man. He was more like a flea. A flea!"

He turned to finish making their coffees thoroughly enjoying the vivaciousness of Beckett's giggles.

As he carried the coffee to the coffee table he asked, "You suppose the flea had a gun? A tiny gun with vanishing bullets?

"Fleas with guns? Do you have writer's block again?"

"Stephen King wrote stories of bloodthirsty cars and sold millions of copies. I figure, why be limited by logic?"

Beckett shrugged, "Rocco Jones, Fink's old assistant. Because the wife said that Rocco called and left threatening messages for Fink, I will get Espo and Ryan to follow it up.

"What's up with Ryan?" Rick waved finger through the glass internal wall. They could just see Ryan talking with a guy in a conference room.

"I don't know. I'll ask Esposito when I finish my soup."

"The guy got hit on the head and can't remember who he is." Esposito replied to Castle inquiry as he read the sheet of paper Beckett had handed him.

Castle said, "Oh, missing bullets are cool, amnesia's even cooler." He walked towards the conference room where a guy had emptied out his pockets. Ryan and the stranger were rifling through the items.

"Inhaler, grocery bag, keys." The guy listed off.

"Are you telling me you don't remember, at all, what any of that's for?" Ryan asked, unsure what to think about this guy who couldn't remember a thing about himself.

"Yeah. How ridiculous is that?"

Castle entered the conference room, nudged Ryan and quietly asked, "Hey. Hey. So, has he, uh, really got amnesia?"

"Yeah. But apparently, my hearing's fine." The guy replied.

Castle smiled at the stranger then said, as he held out his hand to shake, "Well, that's good." He shook hands, "Richard Castle."

"Hi..." The guy smiled hesitantly, "I'd introduce myself, too, but..."

"Yeah, we're just going through his pockets trying to find something that could tell us who he is."

"Oh, and apparently I've been reading, as well." He tapped a top pocket of his coat then pulled out a thick paperback novel. He handed it to Castle who held it up to read the front cover.

Castle said, "Ah, Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky. Classic. You have excellent taste."

"Castle." Ryan reached for the book and Castle handed it over. Ryan turned the book around to show Castle a bullet hole in the back cover.

Ryan said, "Nine millimeter. I think we just found our fifth bullet."

Ryan opened the novel to find the bullet lodged in the pages.

The team waited at the bullpen for the psychiatrist to arrive. He talked with the stranger in the conference room alone for a half hour while the team tried to discover who he was. Beckett viewed it like a puzzle. Rick thought it was a mystery he needed to solve and Esposito and Ryan viewed it as progress in their case if they could get the guy to remember who he was.

Beckett said to Ryan who had just returned from ballistics, "His fingerprints aren't in the system, and we don't have any hits on Missing Persons."

Esposito said, "This is crazy. We actually find a witness to our murder, and we don't know who he is and he doesn't remember what he saw."

"Ballistics confirms that the bullets came from the same gun as the others. Whatever happened in the gallery, he was there." Ryan stated as he sat on the edge of Beckett's desk.

Beckett said, "Not only was he there, but someone tried to kill him, as well. Good thing he reads."

"Good thing he reads Russian literature. If the guy was a Nicholas Sparks fan, he'd be dead." Ryan replied.

Beckett said, "Have CSU check the coat for gunpowder residue, blood, fibers. Maybe it can tell us what happened that night. And check photo IDs on Fink's artists and clients."

"Think he might be one of them?" Ryan asked.

Beckett said, "A girl can dream." Beckett got up, marched off her eyes on the white road. She bumped into Castle as he carried a coffee to her. It spilt all over her white shirt.

Wide eyed, shocked and embarrassed, Castle said, "I brought you coffee."

Beckett peered down at her wet top, "Thank you, Castle." She pressed her lips together.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you." He honestly declared, his blue eyed wide and worried."

"I know. I wasn't looking where I was going." She replied, holding her shirt from her skin.

"Good bra for this, Kate." He whispered.

"Yep. I need to go change, Castle."

"I'll make you a fresh coffee." He turned and headed back to the breakroom.

Beckett and Castle sat with the unknown man and the State psychiatrist, Dr. Holloway for about twenty minutes.

It was established the guy was suffering from a type of episodic memory and the psychiatrist didn't have answers everyone wanted. The stranger had suffered a blow to the back of his head and coupled with psychological trauma, each had lead to amnesia.

But the guy knew how to sign his name and it had Castle amused the entire way back to his loft that evening. Give a guy a pen and tell him to sign his name. He had without a thought. They kind of had a name for him, well, they knew his name started with a J.

Photographs of the victim, and the assistants in the art gallery hadn't prodded any memories to come forth.

Esposito and Ryan had interviewed Rocco, the assistant who had been sacked by Fink but the guy was clear but they had learned that Fink that paid him Rocco to paint forgeries of high-end paintings. Rocco was struggling artist and needed the dough,  
Fink had sold on the artwork them like they were the real thing.

The team had called it quits at that point and Rick had headed off before Beckett would.

Almost an hour after, Beckett was naked, straddled across Rick's lap, her fingers holding his shoulders. He was seated on their pink love chair, his hands to her waist. He gazed quietly at her breasts inches from his eyes that were half closed. With a hand pressed to her back he brought her closer, drew her right nipple between his lips and rubbed the tip of his tongue around her hardened flesh.

"Mmm. You taste of vanilla coffee."

She was deeply into what she was doing, her pelvis slowly rolling but she paused and replied, "I bet I do. It went all the way down there too." Her right eye brown rose.

"Tease. Very tasty. Extra tasty," he mumbled, gave an extra suck then popped her breast from his lips.

He smiled at her little groan of pain and pleasure, as he looked down to their point of joining, appreciating how much she was physically enjoying their intimacy.

Castle paused his movement, which opened Kate's eyes to his, in question. He said, matter of fact, "The bullet was made of ice."

Her brow furrowed, "Huh?"

Castle continued, "Someone fired the ice bullet, it melted before we could find it."

Kate sighed, then continued with fucking him. Her hands gripped his shoulders a little tighter. "Castle." She growled, dissatisfied with his lack of effort.

"An ice bullet!" He pressed, "Hello? An ice bullet? Are you even paying attention to me?"

"No!" Beckett stopped moving and her body dropped upon him, which caused her to feel a pang of pain and Rick gave a grunt of approval.

"What?" He queried.

"You aren't saying anything worth paying attention to and besides that, your attention should be completely on my body and satisfying me before I leave."

"Oh." He smiled, "Shop talk is out."

"We're having sex, Rick."

His mouth fell agape as he peered down their bodies. "Oh my, we are too." He grinned at her eyes, his bright.

She laughed, "I could kill you."

"I know." His hand lowered to the point they were joined. "But if you kill me, you won't get this." He slipped over her swollen bump. Her hips bucked. She shuddered.

"Castle."

"Mm.. a threat." He growled, stared at her eyes as he worked his magic on her clit. In a matter of seconds she was falling apart. Her inner thigh muscles trembled. Hear rate had increased. Her hips slowed. "Get on with it girl, or do I have to take over?"

"Get on with it?"

"Yeah. Move those hips. Fuck me," he ordered, his tone deeper than usual "Fuck me on your chair like you mean it."

She smiled fondly, amused by his dirty talk, then leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The body resumed its rhythmic movement assisted by a pair of long slender legs. He groaned his appreciation. Her fingers gripped the back of the chair, hardly able to hold off the orgasm that bubbled within. She nuzzled at his jaw, nibbled on his ear lobe. She breathlessly whispered close to his right ear, "You need to … fuck me so hard, …. Ricky, that you will ….. have me screaming."

Breathing rapidly, she sat back, ensuring her muscles worked on his cock, aroused him further.

Astounded with her dirty talk the ridden asked, "Would you like a matching hickey?"

Kate stilled, "Love bite?"

"Shag stain?" His response was quick even if he'd expected a thump on the shoulder instead of her response.

"Fuck mark?" Her eyebrow shot up again.

So did his. "Whisky kiss? Man handled mark?"

"How about fuck mark?" She queried.

"I love it when you talk dirty," he informed.

"I can feel that…" she squawked in surprise when he thrust his pelvis up against hers. "Sheeeez… faaaarkkk!" She bounced clumsily off his power, clutched the chair and giggled helplessly.

Large hands to her butt took care of her balance. Things after that got serious. Their eyes connected. She released a slight cry. Hands to his neck, their mouths locked and they kissed hard and fast. Her body trembled with increasing excitement, anticipation of what was on its way. Rick aware she was on the edge, fondled her being. Muscles tightly clenched his shaft, her body stiffened. She cried out, lost control of her rhythm as she crashed into a climax.

He closed his eyes, unable to hold off any longer and released the pressure into his lover.

Moments later, sweaty and panting, Beckett stood off her boyfriend, guided by his hands. Light headedness caused her to flop to the bed stretching out on her back a broad, happy smile worn on her dial.

"Best. Quickie. Eva." She declared as Rick fell on the bed beside her.

"It wasn't bad." He answered, giving her thigh a pat. "Baby, you have like twenty minutes before you're due to meet your BFF. You need to ditch the boyfriend and get on your trike."

Kate sat up, grabbed her phone and checked the time. "Oh my God. Shit! You're right! I need to leave." She flew of the bed and ran off to the en suite.

"Off you go." Rick grinned, watched her naked form disappear, then laid back and stared at the ceiling, his palm rubbing his bare sweaty chest. He called out, "Best quickie eva, Detective Girlfriend."

"I bloody hope so." She called back.

"Certainly was." Are you coming back to my place later?"

"Yeah."

"Throw your clothes in your bag for tomorrow and I will take it with me."

"Thanks."

What walked out of her bathroom caused Rick to sit up on his elbows. Kate was in a fitted, simple black dress, brown ankle boots her hair loose and wavy. The lipstick was pink and her cheeks were still rosy from sex. She slung a black jacket over her shoulder and in her hands she carried a sweater, jeans and underwear. She dumped them in her overnight bag glancing at Rick's groin. She smiled.

"C'mon Ricky. Already?"

"When you look like that?" He growled, "I need to put a ring on your finger, don't I. Keeps the circling sharks away."

"One day, buddy." She leaned over the bed, to give him a farewell kiss. "I'll see you at the loft. Lock up when you leave."

"I will. Have fun and keep strong. You know how good Lanie is." He kissed her.

She smiled, "I'm better."

And she was gone.


	60. Chapter 60

_Hi all. Apologies for the delay in updating but life has had me busy. Struggling to write around this episode as there isn't much action. It's slowly happening._

Esposito and Ryan were onto a man named Bahir Harun who was an attaché at the Bahrain Consulate. Early in the morning, they met with the man, who had admitted to having a talk with Fink an hour before he was murdered, but that was all they got once it was subtly suggested that Harun had figured out Fink was selling fakes and had decided to get even. What annoyed the detectives was the fact the guy had full diplomatic immunity which prevented them from bringing him in for a bit of a chat.

When Ryan and Esposito returned to the bull pen they found Castle and Beckett at the desk, working through a report from the Coroner's office.

Ryan sat at his desk as he said to Beckett who was noticeably content, sipping on a coffee Rick had supplied, "So, I checked all the photo IDs off all of Fink's clients and artists. Our friend J isn't one of them."

That caused Castle to search about them, "So where is J?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Kate sat forward, picked up a notepad, "Umm, Dr Holloway called from the hospital. He said that aside from a minor head bump, J's got a clean bill of health."

"Well, other than the memory loss." Rick smiled about his own sense of humor.

Beckett ignored Castle and directed her conversation to her team, "You know, why don't you guys grab J, take him down to the crime scene. See if that sparks his memory. And get a hold of Fink's assistant Darius. Tell him to meet you down there, with every file he has on Bahir Harun."

"He's quite cute." Kate shared right out of the blue.

Rick paused munching on his cheeseburger, glanced about their table then looked at Kate in question unable to isolate a guy better looking than himself. It seemed the guy wasn't in the coffee shop because her eyes were dreamily staring out the window. There was no one out there either. A full mouth of food, he kept chewing while Kate wiped her fingers clean.

Successfully through her first cheeseburger, she was done and left the second untouched. It wasn't possible to eat another right now. The plate got pushed toward the middle of the table for Rick clean up.

"Who?" He asked.

"J." She had a suck on the straw of her shake. "This is really sweet."

"Its caramel, Honey. I'm surprised, you shifted from strawberry and ordered a caramel." It was his turn to wipe his fingers on a napkin.

"I'm full of surprises. Who knows what it will be next time."

"God forbid." He mumbled which caused her to laugh.

"You really thing J is cute?"

She nodded. "I'd date him if he asked me out." She smiled, raised her eyebrows in an offering that told him she was teasing.

"You can't. You're with me." He stated, aware she was provoking. He would play along.

"I'm talking about if I were single."

"But you're not single." He reminded, ensuring his voice sounded a little vulnerable so she would feel bad.

She looked to him through long eyelashes, a soft smile. "Just saying."

"Yeah. No," he replied.

"Jealous?"

"Not as much as you get."

She laughed. "But, I belong to you, Ricky," she toyed with a French accent. Using accents worked for her every time. Blue eyes shined as she reached her left hand out to his right. They momentarily hooked fingers, but he had to retract when he suddenly shifted on the chair to give his jeans a tug.

"God, Kate. You can't be doing that in public." He cursed, "Shit." Comfortable once again, he grinned boyishly, his eyes shining, particularly when she laughed at his awkward moment.

Her phone pinged which caused her to drag it over the table so she could read it.

"Esposito says J doesn't remember anything about the gallery and Darius Langley said he wasn't there when he was."

"Okay. Did they collect the records books?"

"Yep. Going back three years."

"Well, once we wrap it up here we'll head back, huh?" He suggested, "But I need a minute or so."

"No control, Castle."

During the afternoon, after Castle left to go home to see his daughter, Beckett typed up notes on the file. The case was slow moving. She summed it up that Rocco was painting knock up pieces of art and Fink was selling them to interested buyers, such as Harun the guy who had diplomatic immunity. Because Harun was utilizing the diplomatic immunity she wrote that Montgomery was taking care of lodging an interview request with the State Department's which basically placed that problem in their hands. Period.

The team had turned their attention to finding out who J was. She consulted Montgomery who had agreed to let J spend the night in the break out room where there was a reasonably comfortable couch. She amongst others had spent a good handful of nights on that piece of furniture.

While Beckett was wrapping up the paperwork, Ryan collected some blankets and pillows for J to sleep on the couch.

She also emailed a photo of J along with a description of him to the media team for them to release details of J to the media tomorrow morning. With that done she called it a day. With Rick at home she caught a train to the gym near her home.

The rap on the door had Kate spring off the couch and hurry to the entrance. On her way, she grabbed a black coat and beanie, and turned off the main lighting to the apartment. She opened the door and smiled at Rick and Alexis who stood in the hallway.

"Ready?" Rick asked with a smile.

"Finally," Kate declared.

Alexis frowned and pointed to her right to her father who remained quiet. "Blame Dad, Kate."

"Sorry. She's right. My fault. C'mon."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she closed the door.

"Chocolate, Rockefeller Centre."

"Skating?" Kate asked the excitement level on the rise.

"For sure." Alexis replied and her father shrugged his shoulders.

"Got skates?" He asked.

"Will rent them."

"Good idea." Rick replied as they walked towards the elevator. They stepped inside.

"Chocolate?" Kate asked as they descended, aware Rick had mentioned the substance.

"Yes," Alexis replied, "My science teacher says that chocolate contains chemicals that are proven to relieve depression. We are going out to ensure we don't fall into depression." She giggled.

"Any excuse for my daughter to eat chocolate." Castle replied, slipping his hand into Kate's before they stepped out of the elevator.

"Mmhhh." Kate kind of grunted, "Well, it's good, but I prefer ummm a drink." She followed him across the lobby.

"So does my mother, and I actually."

"Scotch," she advised, "And chocolate."

Alexis laughed, "I'll stick with the chocolate."

"Yes, you will." Rick confirmed taking his daughter's hand as they stepped outside to the sidewalk. "We grab a taxi, Ladies?"

"Sure. How did you guys get here?"

"Walked." He let go of Kate's hand when she indicated she would grab a taxi. She always managed to catch one faster than he did. Tonight, Alexis also stepped to the curb and together his girls pulled in a taxi. They bounced after the cab, their laughter making Rick grin as he hurried after them. This was the first time he was out with both of them and Alexis had suggested they invite Kate. It had made his day.

They bundled into the back seat of the yellow vehicle with Alexis seated in the middle. The cab took off at warp speed.

Roughly an hour later they were standing at the railing to the ice rink overdosed on chocolate desserts they ate at Serendipity. Alexis was out on the rink, burning off the sugar hit. She had unexpectedly bumped into friends beneath the Christmas tree and had immediately taken off with them to the rink. After viewing the magnificent tree, decorated in lights, Rick and Kate had wandered to a coffee shop for a couple of take-aways. With the cup keeping Kate's hands warm she huddled in close to Rick. He wore a black beanie, a thick black coat and a blue scarf. Kate had a creamy colored beanie on, her dark hair tucked up inside it. She was a little jittery from the dessert.

"I'm glad you joined us." Rick said, standing behind her. He wrapped his free arm around her waist as she leaned into his body. "You know, it was Alexis who asked if you would like to come tonight."

"Really? That was nice of her." She placed her hand over his forearm as she turned to look at him over her shoulder. "What if someone see's us here together?"

"We're friends. Friends do things together."

"I mean this."

"You're cold. I'm being a gentleman," he joked. "Look at us, Kate. We are hidden by clothing. Its December-"

"And fucking cold," she finished. "Alexis is having fun."

"She loves skating. Every year we hit the slopes for a ski weekend too. I hope you will come with us."

"Just tell me when," Kate replied, "She likes the boy, Castle."

"How do you see that?" It was his turn to lean into Kate as he looked over the barrier to find his daughter. There she was, her long red hair flowing behind her as she speed-skated with a teenage boy.

Kate released a girlish giggle. "Because I was once a teenage girl, Castle."

"Yeah, I'm so glad you're all grown up. We have so much fun together, making memories we can smile about when we're sitting in a nursing home."

"Nursing home?"

"Mmm. Yes. Too soon? You sound disgusted."

"I haven't hit that age of thinking about nursing homes."

"I have. Well, I want you sitting there propped up in your arm chair with a smile on your face, with everyone around you wondering why." He had a laugh, amused by his own humor.

"I already do that. I got caught out the other day because I was thinking about what you had done to me the previous night. Espo made a comment."

"What did he say?" He keenly inquired.

"Something smart ass about me looking like I had been _royally_ laid."

"Royally laid." He grunted in thought, "Well, he was right. I do ensure you're properly serviced." Rick chuckled and gave her a slight squeeze.

"Property serviced?"

It was joyous to hear Kate's tone, her laughter, to feel the way she wriggled about in his embrace, still buzzing on her dessert. He loved the closeness. "Oh yeah, I love it that I put a smile on your face. I don't wanna be the guy who makes your mascara run."

Kate quietened and turned about to face him. Shorter in casual footwear, she looked up at his face. "Castle that is sweet." She smiled, "I wanna have memories to smile about when I'm old. Lots of dirty memories."

"Good. Let's start tonight."

"Start? Continue, Castle." She wrapped her arms about him as he lifted his over her shoulders and she hugged him.

"People might see us," he warned close to her right ear.

"They might," she replied aware he was teasing her.

"You really don't wanna skate?" He asked aware she liked to skate.

"I'm good." She pressed her lips to his jaw. "We don't want to cramp Alexis' style."

For a minute or so, he held his girlfriend and watched his daughter play on the ice rick with some lanky teenage boy. They were having fun and it was pleasurable to watch his daughter enjoy herself. Reminded him of how much fun he'd had with Kate's 30th birthday a few weeks ago. He'd brought joy to what had been hard days at work for the team. It was now a fond memory for all of them. "Remember your birthday?"

"Yes." He felt her nod and heard her laughter. "What a surprise."

He'd surprised her alright. He had booked out a room at a Soho restaurant, provided a small group of friends and family a private and safe venue to celebrate Kate's milestone birthday and had then been witness to how hard cops partied. His detective had really cut loose that night and had suffered for it the next day.

He let her go a she pulled gently away, "Best surprise party eva." She declared.

"Yes. It wasn't bad considering it was a last minute decision." He stepped to the railing beside her. "Well, we certainly had plenty of public displays of affection that night and we got away with it…"

"Because I had a big night on the turps." She laughed, "I got all fresh with you and you let it happen."

"It was very funny. And you've made no apologies for getting fresh with me."

"They think I don't remember, Castle. Lanie told me what I had done over lunch the next day. I could barely hold it together, I wanted to laugh so much."

"Talking of memories, how do you think J is coping with is loss of memory?"

"He seemed okay. Ryan elected to take care of him over night."

Rick pointed at Alexis who had just fallen over on to her back side. The guy she was with, spun about on his skates and returned. He held out his arms to pull Alexis back to her feet. The teenagers then skated off, holding hands. Castle slipped his hand into Kate's.

"Do you feel there's an age difference in us, Kate?"

She glanced to him, smiled, saw an opportunity to get under his skin for once. "You mean Castle, do you think I see you as a sugar daddy?" She pressed her lips together to suppress the giggles trying to burst out.

"What? Sugar daddy?" He cleared his throat. "I asked for that didn't I." He squeezed her hand.

"No. Well, yes, but no I don't feel there is an age difference between us. I manage to keep up with you, Castle."

"Mm. You're funny, Beckett. You were what, thirteen when Meredith had Alexis?"

"I guess so. My parents were the same age." She turned, leaned her hip against the railing and looked into Rick's eyes, concern all over her face.

Confused, his brow furrowed, "What?"

She glanced over his shoulder then bit her lip in thought. "Are you talking subtext?"

Immediately, Rick turned toward her, took her empty coffee cup and placed both cups on a table. "No," he quickly replied his hands going to her shoulders. He dipped to close the distance in their heights. Studied her eyes. "No." He said softer. "Kate?"

"You're not too old for me." She quickly said.

"Hey?" He drew her in, pressed his lips to her forehead. "There's no subtext, Honey. I have no intention of changing a thing."

"But you're asking yourself whether one day I will feel our age gap." She paused, put her hands to his jaw. "Why don't we just be, and we will face that day if it ever happens, okay?"

Rick smiled, nodded. "Sounds like a plan, you gorgeous creature. The glass is half full." He wrapped his arms around her body as she did about his neck and he lifted her off the ground, hugging her firmly. It was comforting how hard she gripped him.

Tight and feeling very secure in his arms, Kate kind of snickered, a little bit of evil in her tone. She then whispered into his ear, "Granted you're the eldest, but I'm the boss."

He laughed, squeezed her, "Yeah, sure. You keep believing that, Honey." He pressed his lips to her temple, just below her woolen hat.

"Your lips are cold," she said as she leaned her head into his kiss.

"Mm. Stay with me tonight? Please." He quietly asked watching another guy with his girlfriend. They were teasing each other with food.

"I will keep you warm, Castle." It was cooed with the right amount of provocation that had Rick aroused. His body had him release a groan of longing, of want.

"You're definitely staying with me, with that promise coming off your tongue."

"Promise?"

"I heard the subtext, Beckett." He let her down, let her go but put his fingers to her jaw. "Kiss me."

Kate nervously glanced around them. They rarely kissed in public, unless she was intoxicated but tonight the mood was there. She glanced between his eyes and lips.

"Kate?"

His tone caused her to smile and she reached up for that kiss she wanted more than anything right now. His lips were colder than hers, but his fingers that slipped to the back of her neck were warm, tender.

Breathless, they parted, his forehead resting against hers. She smiled, thinking about how much she loved to kiss, how much she wanted to be with him, how much she craved him, all the time. "When your daughter gets off the ice, let's go home."

"I think I will call her off the rink."

Beckett wiped the smile from her face the moment she exited the elevator the next morning. It was time to bring out Detective Beckett who was running a little later than usual because she had to swing by her apartment for a change of clothes. As she passed by the breakout room she saw the empty couch where J had slept, the blanket folded at the end with a pillow sitting on top. She continued to her desk giving Ryan a nod.

"Hey! Morning."

Beckett replied, "Hey. How was he last night?"

"He slept like a rock. Doc Holloway stopped by this morning to give him a cognitive abilities test. Scored through the roof on the quantitative part."

"He's good at math?"

Ryan gave a nod.

"So maybe he was an engineer, or in accounting or financing."

"Or just good at math." He pointed towards the spare office, "Castle's testing his drawing abilities. See if he's an artist. Maybe he was trying to convince Fink to show his work."

Beckett glanced to the office to see Rick sitting at a desk with J opposite drawing on an artist's pad. She momentarily looked back at Rick. It caused her muscles to clench, her body to ache for more of what she'd had last night. She turned away, "I suppose we should be thankful he didn't offer to pose nude."

"Yeah. Thanks for that, Beckett. Hey, any idea if we're gonna get to talk to that attaché, Harun?"

Beckett replied, "Radio silence. We gotta ID J. That will help us."

"Yeah."

She glanced up at the mounted TV, that currently showed a news report with J's mugshot. "Speak of the devil."

Ryan followed her eye line, "Yeah. They've been showing it all morning."

Beckett focused on her computer as she asked, "Any calls yet?"

"No."

"Well, until we figure out who he is, we've got nothing." She said as she entered a password to her work login.

Once the computer was up and running, Beckett left it to enter the conference room to check in on J and Castle. J was sketching Castle with a pencil.

She leaned against the door jam. "So, what's the verdict?" She inquired.

J turned the sketch pad around.

Castle eyes widened, "Wow."

Beckett tried not to laugh, "You really captured his soul."

Castle frowned, but then saw the posited, "Okay, so you're not an artist. I'm sure you have many other talents."

"Just no talent for remembering them."

"Oh, that's him. No, no, that's him! Oh, thank God." A woman excitedly called out.

"Can I help you?" Ryan asked leaving his desk as a woman entered the bull pen.

Castle looked to J, "I think we're about to find out who you are."

Beckett pointed over her shoulder as she asked J, "Do you recognize her?"

J shook his head in the negative.

"Wasn't her." Kate pressed her lips together a little frustrated with the time wasters popping up wanting a husband or partner out of J. She momentarily looked to the conference room where Esposito, Ryan and J were eating lunch. "Poor J. This must be driving him crazy not knowing who he is, what he likes to eat."

"Yes, it is doing his head in." Rick rubbed his chin in thought, then stated. "And this news bulletin," he pointed at the screen, "Is bringing the crazy ones out, Beckett."

Kate leaned in, "That woman, Castle, she was all over him," she hissed so J wouldn't hear their conversation, "Like, kissing him and all that."

Rick waved a hand to hush her and nodded, "It wasn't good. Neither was the second one. He was really over the top."

"On the up side, we know he gets asthma and he's allergic to cats."

"Yes," Rick agreed, "And thankfully, he's carrying the inhaler."

Beckett said, "So has Harun told us, we know that J had an argument with Fink, that he was there when Fink was murdered.

"Yes." Rick agreed.

Beckett said, "The night that Mr Fink was murdered, Harun called him not long before he was killed."

"That's correct, Detective. He showed up around 9:45, but he was sent away."

Beckett said, "Because Fink was arguing with a man but we don't know what it was about."

"The man being J." Rick said, glancing to the gents in the conference room. "And we can't ask J what the argument was about. Annoying."

"Frustrating," Kate submitted between gritted teeth, "So frustrating I need to go to the gym and hit the kick bag."

"Oh. Well, I might come over your place tonight. Will bring the hand cuffs."

Kate glanced about before she smiled, "Be hard pressed to beat last night, Castle."

A smug smile appeared. "That was special," he quickly replied thinking about their activities after they returned home from the ice rink. They had really made love. For hours into the night. Some nights they played around, tackled each other into submission, had sex, raw sex, but last night the events of their evening had unknowingly become foreplay to make love. She'd trembled with anticipation, perhaps emotions. It had blown him away that he could do that to another person.

"What?"

Rick snapped from his day dream, looked at Kate's questioning expression. "What?"

"Where did you go?" Kate asked.

"Last night, at home."

Immediately he saw her cheeks brighten. "Oh."

"Yes." He confirmed, "Was thinking about you."

"Oh." She swallowed then smiled.

Castle cleared his throat, shrugged his shoulder, "This is a really boring case Beckett. If we could wrap this one up I would be happy."

"I agree." Beckett said getting them back on the case, "Harun said he saw J arguing with Fink."

"We need to figure out why J was at the gallery."

Beckett sighed, "And we can't do that if we don't know who the hell he is." She hit a button on her keyboard to light up the monitor.

Rick sat up and looked about them for an evidence box but he couldn't see one. "Where is J's stuff, Beckett?"

"What he had on him?"

"Yep. I want to go through it again. See if we can't find another clue."

"Knock yourself out. Ryan has it."

Rick stood off his chair and went off to speak to his detective friend.

Rick figured out another clue about J that had Kate accompany him back to the art gallery. He was excited but he refused to even give her a hint about what had him on the go.

"Why are you dragging me back to the art gallery?" Beckett asked for the umpteenth time since they had left the Precinct, and now they stood on the curb out front of the gallery wher Fink had dried. Distract, Castle circled and searched about.

He replied, "Not to the art gallery, to the street. It's gone."

"What's gone?

"The dog. That's why he had the bag. To clean up after his dog."

Beckett said, "How do you know it was his dog?"

Castle said, "Well, why else would he have a bag? Why else would there be a dog tied up outside a commercial building after midnight? Maybe someone stole it."

Beckett got out her cell phone, "I will get onto Animal Control."

Twenty minutes later, Beckett and Castle followed a woman through a veterinary surgery, where the dog had been located. A microchip and records noting the dog had been collected had brought them to this place.

"All the canines with ID tags we picked up in the last 24. Mostly their owners lost them accidentally and are relieved when we call."

Beckett saw the red setter in one of the cages housing lost dogs, and pointed as she said, "Castle."

Castle who hurried forward, recognized the dog, "Aw. Who's a good girl?"

"That one's from 148 West 26th." The carer advised Beckett.

Beckett said, "That's Fink's gallery."

Castle said, "Good girl. Lucy."

Castle checked the dog's license tag. "I have it Beckett. His name is Jeremy Preswick."


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

 _Castle said, "Good girl. Lucy."_

 _Castle checked the dog's license tag. "I have it Beckett." He looked over his shoulder to Kate, "His name is Jeremy Preswick."_

"Your name is Jeremy Preswick." Kate Beckett informed, her tone soft and easy. She searched the man's face for a reaction, a twitch of facial muscles, as she continued, "We checked it against your DMV photo and it's a positive ID."

Jeremy digested the information, swallowed, looked at Kate who sat opposite him, and tried it out, "Jeremy Preswick." The name readily rolled off his tongue, a deeply ingrained name.

Beckett smiled, liking the sound of him saying his own name. Brightly she added, "You are 34 years old, and you live at 82 Warren Street in Tribeca. You don't really have any family. Your parents passed away a few years ago, and you don't have any siblings. But we did manage to get a hold of your ex-wife, Emma Carnes."

That news caused his eyes to widen, "Ex-wife?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm divorced?"

"Yeah." She glanced at Rick for support but, for once, he remained quiet, which had her questioning what thoughts were going through his mind. He had previously shared with her that he was worried his divorce rate would concern Kate. It didn't right now.

She looked back at Jeremy. "Sorry. Your ex sounded pretty concerned, and we figured that would be the fastest way of putting together the details, which would be great for you and for our investigation."

"If you think it'll help." He shrugged. "An ex-wife that I can't remember."

Beckett motioned to Ryan to send in a tall, attractive blond woman. She was shy but smiled at Jeremy who stood up.

Castle's silence finished when he remarked, "Hey, some men would consider you lucky."

Meanwhile, a tall attractive blond woman named Emma approached Jeremy, "Hello, Jeremy."

"Hey. Thank you for coming. I appreciate it."

"Sure."

"So, we're divorced." Jeremy said, looking over the stranger before him, a woman he had once been married to.

She was shy, but scanned his face, "Yeah."

"Must be weird coming here to try to help me out, huh?"

"A little." She smiled.

"Please take a seat." Beckett offered then sat back down.

"So, what happened to him?" Emma asked when she pulled up a chair and sat beside Jeremy.

"That's what we are trying to figure out." Castle replied.

Beckett said, "Is there anything you can tell us about Jeremy?"

Emma glanced at everyone, her eyes lingering on her ex-husband. "Well, like what?"

Beckett replied, "Like, arr, where he works."

"Well, as far as I know, he doesn't anymore." Emma fidgeted, clearly no comfortable with the situation, "Okay, this is weird with you sitting right there," she said to Jeremy.

"Tell me about it."

She turned her attention to speak to Jeremy, "You have a PhD in economics from Wharton. Umm, you had a consulting business in channel economics and strategy. You're smart. Like, crazy smart."

Castle said, "Had a business?"

"Yeah, yeah, he sold it last year."

"Do you know why?" Castle asked.

"No. I thought it was weird. He loved the business."

Jeremy a little distracted, asked, "Why did we split up, Emma?"

"Wow," she took a breath, her cheeks colored, "I've ranted for hours to girlfriends about that."

"I'm guessing I don't come off so well in that rant."

"You were a jerk." Emma stated, her eyes remaining on his.

"Ah."

She dropped her shoulders, relaxed a little, "But so was I. I mean, the truth is we probably got married too young."

"Look, I'm sorry that I don't recognize you, but you seem incredibly nice and," he glanced over her face, "You're gorgeous, and I'm certain that it was entirely my fault that our marriage fell apart."

"See that." Emma glanced to Rick and Kate, "That's the guy I fell in love with. Funny. Sweet. Self-deprecating."

Beckett who wanted the conversation back on track asked, "Do you know what Jeremy had been doing with himself recently?

"As far as I know, he was dating the youngest, hottest women he could find, and not bothering to put the toilet seat down."

Jeremy laughed a little nervously.

"And do you have any idea what he might have been doing at the Victor Fink Gallery in Chelsea?" Beckett asked momentarily glancing between the two. They kind of reminded her of herself and Castle in that they looked good together. They complemented each other. Was a shame they hadn't made it once upon a time.

"No." Emma replied, "I'm sorry, but we haven't even spoken in almost a year." She looked awkward, a little flustered.

Beckett said, "Um, well we're on our way to Jeremy's apartment to see if it sparks anything. Would you mind coming along? You might be able to put things in some context."

"Yeah sure. Anything to help him."

"Do you find it odd?" Castle asked, swishing his drink. The ice cubs clinked against each other. He was comfortably seated on Kate's couch, a good dinner under his belt, a good Scotch in the tumbler. Best of all, he was with Kate, who was on the living room floor, motioning herself through a Yoga session. To his pleasure, she wasn't wearing much.

"Odd?"

"Mmm." He grunted.

"You and I?" She inquisitively asked.

"Haha. No," he replied. Kate poked her tongue out at him then smiled broadly.

"What do you find odd?" She inquired.

"Jeremy, not recognizing his own home, his personal stuff."

"It is odd." She morphed her body into a downward facing dog position. Rick, watched on, admired the length of her bare legs, stretching, her bottom up in the air. He'd seen her warm up, twist her limbs and torso into various shapes. It was amazing how flexible her body was.

"What is that position called?"

"Umm...Adho Mukha Svanasana … or downward facing dog." She lifted her head to see his face.

"It's um…" Rick made every effort to retain an innocent expression, particularly while his groin had its own ideas. She saw straight through him with a growl of his name.

"What?" He shifted on his seat.

"Don't you get any ideas, Castle." She pushed into her calves and gluts stretching, her butt a little higher. Her pony tail of brunette hair, dangled and bounced.

"Ideas? Jesus, Kate. You're doing yoga in skimpy shorts and that tiny top …."

"Really?"

Rick grunted, "The pony tail is really cute too." He said watching his girlfriend place her right foot near her right hand. She was quite flexible. But he knew that very well. "I don't know how you can do this after eating dinner."

"Just some light stretches, before we go to bed. Limber up." She teased.

"You're very demanding of my services," he remarked.

"Sure, Castle."

"Better limber up, Baby." He suggested with a hearty laugh.

Beckett held in a giggle, looked away from Castle so she was able to focus. His laughter almost had her tumble into his world of provoking and teasing. Couldn't help himself.

"One, two, three-" She huffed, taking ownership of another compromising position.

"It's agonizing even to witness, Kate." Unconsciously, his hand stroked his thigh, feeling quite relaxed and content. It was an evening alone with Kate that he was enjoying. Meanwhile, Kate inhaled deeply then counted to three again.

"Do you know why six is afraid of seven?" He casually asked, took a sip of his drink and waited for Kate to process his odd question.

"No." She sat her bottom to the padded mat and crossed her bare legs. With arms positioned behind her back, she grasped her own hands, then held that position. A grimace appeared then faded as her muscles relaxed. She looked at his expectant face, gave in, "Why?"

"Why, you ask." He smirked. "Seven ate nine."

She smiled uncontrollably, then frowned. "Really, Castle? That's all you got?"

"Well, I'm trying to distract my naughty thoughts, but you doing what you're doing there," he waved his hand in her general direction, "- makes it extremely hard."

"You don't say." She looked in the general direction of his hips. She observed the reaction and deservedly gave it a smirk, "You're hopeless, Ricky."

"When it comes to you, I am."

She lowered her arms to her lap, rested, her gaze remaining on her boyfriend. In response, Rick smiled his lips closed.

"They're a cute couple," he commented, "Jeremy and Emma."

"Like us." She bit back a coy smile.

"We're cute?"

"Mm." She gave a nod, looked at him through strands of loose hair, and he swore her pink cheeks blushed a little more. "Your Mom thinks we are."

"Sounds nice," he said.

"They are cute and he seems very nice, but I locked him up as our prime suspect, Castle. My gut tells me he's innocent, even if the evidence convicts him."

"Well, you found the gun in his home. It could have been planted." He lightly patted his lap encouraging her to come to him. "The Taglia painting he owns. I suspect it has something to do with why Jeremy was at the art gallery."

"Same. It's a pretty pricey painting and the only one he owns." Beckett said, "Emma said they bought that painting on their honeymoon, in Siena." She stood up, and bare footed, she stepped around the coffee table to him. He smiled and sat up when she approached.

She gently lowered herself upon his left thigh, folded her legs across his lap, feet resting on the couch. It was easy for her to be on his lap. He was physically big enough to accept her form and she loved the way his solid arms comfortably embraced her body.

"There you go," he was quite happy she was close.

Beckett quietly said, "I'm here with you. Mr Preswick is locked up until we can prove his innocence. Emma is alone, wondering what if, I guess."

"She might be." Castle, who admired Kate's bare legs, stroked the length of her thigh then said, "The guy is currently guilty of a murder he can't remember. That just sucks. I mean, if you're gonna kill someone, get caught, spend the rest of your life in prison, at least you have the satisfaction of knowing why you did it. Hatred. Revenge. Hell, maybe he even cut you off on the highway. But Jeremy won't even have that, even if we do find motive, because he won't remember why it meant anything to him."

"I'm with you, Castle. It sucks." She arched her back when his hands stroked up her skin to her shoulder blades.

"So, what next?"

Beckett smiled, glancing to each of his eyes, then softly spoke, "We, like you said this afternoon, will try to find out why he did it, tomorrow."

"Yes, I need to know. I will struggle to sleep until this case is set back on the right track."

"You really believe Jeremy is innocent?" She asked as she leaned against his body her arm over his shoulders.

"No doubt in my mind, Kate."

"Same. It doesn't fit with me that he did it."

"We'll go back to his apartment in the morning, just us. We might have missed something." Rick said, pressed his lips to her jaw then murmured, "Honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?"

"Yeah. They bought the painting on their honeymoon." He explained, "When you dream about being married, all that, where do you imagine your honeymoon would be?" He felt her body tense up and immediately gave her body a squeeze, "Don't hit the panic button. Just answer the question."

She relaxed. She curled in her body, snuggled into him more. "I don't know, Castle. I don't dwell on the marriage thing."

"Really?"

"Mm, and it all depends what time of the year we have our honeymoon."

"Whoa." He coughed. She laughed.

"There will be a perfect place for our honeymoon, Castle, whenever it happens." She kissed his cheek, bit her lip then burst out, "I'm looking forward to Paris in 2017."

He smiled. "Same."

"We might be lucky enough to find something special for us, something like their painting."

"It's a romantic story."

"I think we already have something special. You have a girlfriend and a work wife."

He laughed, "I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass."

"Let's go to bed, Castle. I'm beat."

The next morning, on their way to the Precinct, Beckett and Castle swung by Jeremy's apartment. Using the building manager's key they stepped inside, closed the door behind. In the middle of the living area, searching about him, Castle said, "There's got to be an answer here. Something in his life that makes it all make sense.

They heard some rifling in the next room and immediately fell silence. Poised, Beckett drew her gun. A door opened.

Beckett loudly ordered. "Hands! Show...!"

Emma Carnes screamed and dropped a box she carried.

"Lower your gun, Kate. Its Emma and Lucy." Rick said, holding out his arm. Items noisily fell everywhere from the basket Emma dropped. Beckett holstered her gun as Castle went to help. The dog appeared, wagging her tail.

Startled, with a hand on her chest, Emma gasped out, "Oh, that gets the heart rate going."

Beckett bent to collect the items that had fallen to the floor nearby, "Mrs Carnes, what are you doing here?"

"Getting Lucy's things. Prescription. Guess I have custody now."

Beckett holstered her gun, "I'm sorry to surprise you. We didn't know you'd be here. Are you okay?" She bent over to collect items dropped.

"Yeah. I guess I just thought for half a second that this would be a bizarre second chance for Jeremy and me. Stupid, right?"

"No, it's not stupid." Rick replied, "And to find out that he's a murderer..."

"When I saw him again, I... All those years of petty arguments that tore us apart didn't seem to matter. It was- it was like we first met. You know, I felt that thing. And then we came here, and I saw that he didn't sell it and I thought maybe he still had feelings for me, too." Emma put down the basket.

Beckett said, "Do you mean the painting that the two of you bought on your honeymoon?"

"We didn't buy it because we wanted to. We had to. We were in the artist's studio in Siena and Jeremy picked it up off the easel. He was always goofing around. The artist went crazy. It was still drying. We laughed for a week about our little love smudge. And then when I saw that he didn't sell it, I thought maybe... But I was kidding myself."

Beckett studied the picture not able to identify anything odd, "What do you mean?"

Emma pointed over the lower right hand side of the piece of artwork. "No thumbprint. It should be right here." She circled an area, "He sold ours. This one's just a copy."

"Are you sure, Emma?" Beckett asked.

"Of course, I'm sure."

Castle looked at Kate as he declared, "It's a fake."

Beckett smiled, "And we know who dealt in fakes."

"That's got to be Jeremy's connection to Fink.' Castle said. "That's got to be why Jeremy was at the gallery."

Beckett said, "And if Jeremy and Fink were arguing like Harun said, maybe it was over the original."

Castle said, "And if that's a fake, then where is the original?"

"Let's go find Bahir Harun."

It didn't take them long to find Bahir Harun. He was being picked up by a sedan on his way to the airport when Beckett intercepted. It took a bit of work on Beckett's part, discussing the pros and cons of diplomatic immunity to have Harun talk. The detective politely informed the driver and Mr Huran that immunity did not extend to a car service. Because Haran and his driver continued to play hardball, she ended up cuffing the driver so she could inspect his car. Harun objected. Beckett ignored him and popped the truck.

In the truck, she found a tube that contained a painting that she and Castle identified as the original Taglia, Jeremy owned. That find gave her a leverage to get Harun to talk.

Beckett pushed, "Mr Harun, this can go one of two ways. You can either cooperate and tell me what I need to know, or I can call the State Department and inform them that you have a piece of artwork that's at the center of our murder investigation."

Castle said, "And the last I checked, the New York tabloids could give a rat's ass about your diplomatic status. They'll just print your photograph with a headline that says, Diplomatic Douchebag."

Exasperated, Harun said, "Fine. What would you like to know?"

"There's a fake version of this painting found in one of our shooting victim's apartments. Can you tell us how it got there?" Beckett asked.

"How would I know this?"

Castle replied, "Because the fake painting is where the real painting used to be. And now you have the real painting."

"All I know is that I asked Fink to acquire it for client of mine. When he said he had it, I assumed he tracked down the owner and made a deal. But when I went to the gallery that evening, he sent me away. Just like I told you."

"That's a great story, Mr Harun." Beckett said, "But if Fink sent you away empty handed, why do you have the painting?"

"Because I got a call from a man this morning that said he had it, for a price."

Beckett said, "Who was it?"

Beckett and Castle closed the car doors. They momentarily stared at each other, then grinned.

"We did it." They simultaneously declared.

"Yes!" She turned her attention to the town car that drove away from the curbside, on its way to the airport, minus an original painting Rick now placed on the back seat. She called Esposito, putting the phone to speaker.

"Beckett." Esposito greeted moment later, "What did you find?"

"Hey Espo. It was Fink's new assistant. Darius." Beckett said into the phone.

Rick smiled uncontrollably. They almost had closure.

"We cracked the case wide open, with a bloody thumb print." He said to Esposito and Ryan who were on the other end of the call.

Beckett tapped her nails the desk top. She had lost patience with the person she was questioning, and was about to let him know it. The guy was agitated, like a cornered cat. Beside her, Rick sighed, raised his left arm and checked the time. He was probably dwelling on the time he'd never have back.

"Jesus," Rick exhaled.

"This is crazy." The man ranted.

Beckett didn't blink, didn't react.

The suspect continued, "I told you already, I was in class when Mr Fink was killed."

Beckett inhaled, "Thing is Darius, nobody remembers seeing you there."

"I sat in the back."

Castle smirked, "The naughty kids always do."

Beckett stated, "You were at the gallery the night that Jeremy confronted Fink about the painting.

"Listen, there's obviously been some kind of misunderstanding."

Kate opened her folder, rifled through the papers and pulled out a sheet with type written work on it, "Was this a misunderstanding, as well? It's a signed statement from the super at Preswick's building, admitting that he took a thousand dollar bribe from you to allow you into Jeremy's apartment so that you could switch out the paintings."

Darius Langley looked at the paper the detective left on the table between them, then shifted his eye line to the police, "I'm sorry. Should've come clean from the start. Fink wanted the painting. He told me to buy it from Preswick, but the guy wouldn't sell. So, Fink had me paint a fake and, yeah, I- I bribed the super to switch it with the real thing. It was stupid, but Fink threatened to fire me if I didn't."

Beckett leaned in, "It was all you, Darius. You switched out the paintings, you pocketed the money that Fink gave you to buy it."

"It was Fink. He manipulated me." Langley declared.

Beckett said, "No. That is just a lie. And you know what else is a lie? Your name. Darius Langley is your roommate's."

Castle said, "Pretty smart using his identity to land a job at the gallery. Well, I guess it'd be pretty tough to get hired with two felony counts of counterfeiting now, isn't it, George?"

"You got quite a rap sheet, Mr Heller," Beckett said.

Castle continued, "Hmm. One more strike, you go away for a long time."

Beckett said, "Which is why you couldn't afford Preswick calling the cops when he found out the truth. So, you shot him. And then when he went down, you shot Fink, as well."

"Think you're gonna pin this murder on me? No way. You don't got jack."

Beckett watching him get very agitated, pointed at the super's signed witness statement. "Read carefully." She demanded. "You bribed the super twice. And the second time was four hours after Detectives Ryan and Esposito brought Preswick to the gallery and you realized that he had lost his memory. You planted the gun."

Castle said, "Swing and a miss. Strike three. You're out."

For a second Kate thought Castle was going to fist pump the air. He refrained himself.

Jeremy Preswick held the original Taglia painting.

"Ah. It's a beaut." Ryan commented

"Isn't it?"

Beckett said, "I especially love the fingerprint.

"Me, too. Even if I can't remember, it still somehow feels a part of me."

Emma Carnes entered the bullpen with Lucy. "Hey, Jer. Ready to rock?"

"Thanks for coming."

"You remember Lucy?" Emma asked as she walked towards him, their dog hurrying to Jeremy.

"No."

Beckett said, "She certainly remembers you."

"Well, hey, thanks, guys. You made getting arrested for murder really not so bad. Thank you." Jeremy said.

Castle said, "So, are you two gonna...

Beckett hissed to stop him prying, "Castle."

"It's okay." Emma re-assured, "The answer is, who knows? I like him and he likes me. And right now, that's enough."

"Well, see you. I guess if I ever lose my memory again, I'll know where to come." Jeremy said. Jeremy and Emma walk down the hall together.

"Thanks again for coming." Jeremy said to Emma as they walked way.

"Of course." Emma replied.

The team watched the pair leave.

"One of them has fifteen years of baggage. Marriage. Divorce. The other is on a first date." Ryan said, "How long you think that'll last?"

Beckett smiled softly and replied, "Hopefully for a long time."

"Why, Detective Beckett, I had no idea you were a romantic." Castle teased, smiling at her.

Beckett shot back light heartedly, "I also sleep with a gun. Bet you didn't know that either." She kind of smiled at him, her eyes silently sending him subtext.

"How about you, Castle?" Ryan asked, "How long you think it'll last?"

"Well, I guess it's just the writer in me, but I'm hoping for a happy ending." Rick replied, carefully casting his eyes upon Kate, whose cheeks suddenly colored.

Kate returned to her chair. Rick grabbed his jacket. "I'll head off home," he said, "Get in a shower and a nap."

"I like naps." Kate replied slapping her lips on the 'p', and gave him a seductive glance the boys didn't catch.

Rick cleared his throat. "Well. Is that what the kids are calling it now?" He raised his eyebrows in question. "I should try a nap."

"You should." Kate replied, "I'll see you, Castle."

"Until later then." He said and sauntered off to the elevator.

Martha was seated on the couch when Castle entered the loft. He carried his coat, a little warm from taking a walk home from the Precinct. As he hung his coat, in the closet his mother called out.

"Ooh! Well, well, well. Look who's doing the walk of shame now."

Castle smiled, "I was with Beckett."

"Really?"

"Uh," he smiled, "Wrapping up a case. That's all."

"Ah. Well, you should do something serious with that girl while you're both young."

Rick chose to ignore his mother's comment when he sat down beside her. Then he replied, "You know what we're doing. How serious we are." He looked at the item in her hand, "What's going on with you? What you got there?" He pointed at a flattened dry, white rose.

"Oh. It's from Chet. Isn't it romantic?"

"Chet sent you a dead flower?"

Martha smiled, "It is the most romantic thing that anyone had ever done for me."

Castle sat up, rubbed his chain, "I've been up all night, so I might be a little slow."

"Well Darling, it's the boutonniere I gave him, prom night," she explained, "He saved it, tucked it into a yearbook, and he sent it over last night with a note asking if I would give." She paused, looked at her son, "Give him a second chance."

"Well, there's a lot of that going around these days."

Martha sighed, "And I'm scared. I mean, what if it doesn't work out? What if it does?"

Castle said, "That's the cost of living. I'm risking my heart and soul dating Kate."

"She adores you. I just don't want to ruin this, Richard."

"Me neither, Mom. Don't want to lose this one." He leaned over and kissed his mother's cheek. "I'm gonna go clean up and then pass some time, personal time with my girlfriend. Give Chet a chance, huh?"

Castle slowly cast his eyes over Kate's face that was still and quiet, thinking about how beautiful she was when she read. "Baby?"

"Mm?"

"The first flower I gave you-"

"Mm?" She suspiciously glanced at him.

"What did you do with it?"

Suspicion changed to confusion. Kate lowered her novel to her lap, "Why?" She happened to look over the living area to the books piled up on the stairs behind the kitchen.

"Interested to know, that's all."

"I'm not sure I should tell you." She replied as she unfolded herself off the couch, "Hang on a second." She hopped across the room, climbed three or so steps until she was at a pile of heavy books. Five or so books were set aside and she returned with a thick hard cover book. She sat beside Rick who inspected the cover.

"Decorating French style."

She smiled and hummed, "Was my mom's."

"She liked the French theme too?"

Kate nodded, "Castle, promise me you won't mock me."

"Why would I?"

"I know you." She opened the book to a certain page and took a gentle hold of a piece of tissue paper. She brought from it the red rose he'd given her. The flower had been pressed and was dried and flattened. She showed him and he took hold of it. Much of what had once been bright red petals were now faded to a dull antique pink color.

"Well." He mumbled feeling as though she had just given him a check in on reality about how people can cherish the smallest gestures of affection.

"What?"

"My mother was given a dried flower last night. It was the boutonniere she gave her friend Chet on their prom night," He smiled, "Like a century ago. Apparently, he saved it, tucked it into a yearbook, and he sent it over last night with a note to her."

She smiled and took back the pressed rose she returned to the paper. "What did she say?"

"Oh, it wasn't her. It was me. I now realize how much of a jerk I was." Castle admitted.

"What did you say?"

"I told her the flower is dead, that she is not. That it's time to start making some new memories."

"Mm." She stared at the flower with fondness. "Well, Castle, perhaps this flower represents the beginning of new memories for me of when we got together. Perhaps it's a reminder of that night. Our first date."

He smirked, "That date that went all night and well into the next day."

She couldn't help but smile.

Rick had a healthy sip of his glass of red wine, "We also have photos of us that night."

She nodded her agreement, "But I also have the flower you gave me."

"I've given you more. A lot more."

She laughed, "Yes, I begged you to stop. My apartment resembled a florist's shop."

The pages of the book were turned and another flower was picked up, "You gave me this one when we had been dating for a week." She smiled at his boyish antics, his expression. He then scrolled through his phone.

"March," he muttered to himself, grinned and turned the phone around. "Over all, a good month." On the screen was a photo of them. She was laying on his body her head near his shoulder, both of them looking in the camera. They were sleepy, naked on the bed. Smiley eyes, flushed cheeks.

"We were so tired that day."

"But we had fun." The phone was put down and his hand took the book from Kate's lap and placed it on the table.

His fingers combed her hair, "I will talk to Mom tomorrow about her rose."

"It was his rose forever after," Kate whispered.

"And yours came with me as the bonus."

"Lucky me." She brought herself to his lap facing him and placed her hands upon his shoulders. Her lip was bitten which Rick recognized as a clear sign she'd thought about something she was also shy about.

"What?" He asked.

"Huh?" She combed fingers through his hair, going around his ear.

"What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Tell me."

She smiled, coy. "I will be able show our daughter the first flower you gave me."

All air exhaled from his lungs and he flopped back on the couch in disbelief. His palm fell over his heart.

"What?" Her eyes scanned his face, confused by his strong reaction and she laughed, a little nervously.

His eyes were wide and bright, when he asked, "You've imagined us with kids?"

"I've dreamed about it." She nodded. "Occasionally."

"You never said."

"Don't really think about my dreams."

"You should, especially when they will become a reality." It was said with a good dose of confidence.

"Castle." She cooed lovingly, "Take me to bed so we can practice making babies. I need the practice."

His hands went to her waist, "Off you hop. Let's go practice." He lifted her as she stood off him.


	62. Chapter 62

_**Hi all, apologies for the spell between chapters but creating a fair bit in this part and managing personal affairs. Write when I can, not when I want to of late. Enjoy.**_

A ROSE FOREVER AFTER

Dawn of January 9, 2010 was a very cold Saturday, way too cold to be out early. Getting to their destination was a matter of stepping carefully along the icy pavement to avoid slipping over.

Kate followed her father on their journey. This year he was a little slower, perhaps a little more aware he could easily slide, fall and injure himself. Nowadays, they knew their way to the correct row without pausing. There were little indicators on the way, a light tall head stone, an old oak tree to the left, a young sapling further down to their right that was growing fast. They did it together at least once a year, and she knew she took the path at least another six times year alone. The number of steps to her destination was forever in her soul. Once they were close, Kate fell in beside her father to take the final steps with him to the grave site where her mother had been laid to rest. They were the only people visiting the cemetery that morning.

Cradled in her left elbow was a bunch of simple flowers she had purchased on the way. Her father lowered his head, closed his eyes. She did the same, and thought about her late mother. It wouldn't be long. The weather hastened their rituals most anniversaries. The air was cold inhaled to her lungs and the noises of the awakening city about them were crisp in the clear morning.

"Eleven years." Her father said, breaking the long silence between them.

Kate opened her eyes and lifted her gaze to her father's face. "Mm. It's gone fast."

"Yes."

"I still miss her. Especially lately." She greatly missed not being able to introduce Rick to her mother, "A lot since I met Castle." It was a hard fact to accept that her life would be absent of conversations with her Mom about her future with her boyfriend, especially this boyfriend. If they ever were to marry, her mother wouldn't be the person who would accompany her to buy a dress.

"Every day," he agreed.

They both gazed down upon the gravestone. "Daddy?" Kate held out the flowers for him, "I bought these for you."

He gently accepted them. "Thank you, Honey." He looked over them, "These are pretty."

"The type she liked." She'd said even though she knew he what flowers his wife had liked the most.

"They are." He replied.

The chill factor of the day caused Kate to pull at her coat and tuck her red wool scarf in tighter. She tugged her beanie closer to her eyebrows. It was damn cold. The sun was breaking the horizon, causing ice crystals about them to sparkle, perhaps a message from her mother that she knew they were there. It's what she liked to think, even though she saw the same thing about the city every other morning in January. Jim laid the bunch of flowers at the head stone, pressed his fingers to his lips then touched the cold stone. This morning he kept company with sorrow, a mood that would take a few hours to leave him. She didn't believe he would ever get over the loss of his wife, particularly now. He had moved on but hadn't forgotten. Kate appreciated that as a daughter, but as an adult she wanted him to be happy with another woman to share the rest of his life with someone special. A few minutes passed by with Kate waiting for her father to finish his private memorial.

When he turned about he looked at her face. She smiled fully aware of what was coming. It always did. She could repeat it verbatim.

"She lives in you, Katie. I didn't put much in to creating you. It was all your mother's genes."

Kate momentarily bit her bottom lip, wondered whether he saw her ageing. She was getting close to being her mother's age when she had passed. This year, she responded differently. "It's funny, Castle says I'm like you. He says I'm your daughter. Mutters it under his breath at times – you're your father's daughter."

"That's nice to hear even if he is complaining."

"Something like that."

Jim looked back over his shoulder one last time at the headstone, then returned to Kate. "C'mon. Let's get out of this damn cold weather and go for breakfast."

"Coffee would be great." Kate backed up a couple of steps, bid her mother a silent farewell then stepped in beside her Dad. He held out his arm that she immediately hooked hers into. Together, they strolled back up to the pavement to the car park, not in a hurry for once in their lives.

When they could to see the car, Kate smiled, and she swore her heart skipped a beat, when she saw Rick leaning against the fender. He was rather handsome in his winter wear. He had said he'd meet them for breakfast at the café, so it was a surprise to see he was at the cemetery.

"Your fella is here." Jim commented, and kind of pointed towards Rick.

"Mm. Surprising me, no doubt. He likes to keep it interesting." She softly replied enjoying the sight of the writer who waited for them in the cold. "Look at him." She fondly murmured and briefly squeezed her Dad's arm. "He's wearing the scarf and beanie I bought him for Christmas."

Her father paused, took a second to absorb his daughter's expression, "He's a handsome man, Kate. You do tend to date the good sorts."

She snorted. Her father chuckled. "Stop teasing me, Dad."

"Well look at him," he offered, "He's tall." They continued their path.

"He's brooding," she added playfully.

"Handsome."

"Mm. He is," she agreed, "He says, ruggedly handsome. He would correct you on that."

"Gentleman." Jim suggested, a smile creeping in. "I hope."

She laughed and played along by replying, "Now you're stretching it, Daddy." She patted her gloved fingers on her Dad's hand. "You should probably stop."

"Is he scared of me?"

Her laughter was vivacious, "He's terrified of you, wonders what you think of him. He's not a lawyer."

"No, but he's a successful author."

'I know. His own imagination sets him off. His insecurities I guess."

"Then he would have been very terrified of your mother."

"Yeah." Kate smiled in amusement and reflection, "She did have that effect on my boyfriends. She would have loved him though, Dad. Would have talked books with him for hours. He's well read."

"She would have enjoyed that. She loved her books, as you do."

They closed in on the space to her father's car. Rick had brought his sedan that was parked behind her father's car. He stayed at the car, his expression evident he was very a happy to see Kate.

He commented, "He's pleased to see you. I feel you're excited"

"It's been a few days." Kate replied.

"Go on," Jim released her to Rick and she sped up her gait the final steps to him. She stopped before him, wondering how the hell he'd figured out where she was that morning. She hadn't mentioned it was the anniversary of her mother's passing. They had arranged to meet where they were to have breakfast but she had not mentioned where she would be. She hadn't brought up the anniversary at all.

"Hello," she softly greeted.

"Hello." He pushed off the car to stand right up, and raised out his left hand that held the stem of a single pink Gerbera. She smiled, accepted it and stepped to him. She wrapped her arms about his neck. He held her firmly for a little longer than usual.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Always." He rested his chin on her head for a moment.

When she stepped back, Rick and Jim greeted with a hand shake. After the usual greetings Jim inquired, "You been taking good care of my daughter?"

Kate shot him a look hearing the subtext of her father teasing her boyfriend.

"Of course, Sir," Rick politely replied with a boyish smile. "Though you do know she carries a gun."

"Yes. She can look after herself," Jim glanced at Kate, "So she tells me."

"He takes care of me." Kate confirmed as she stepped back, taking Rick's gloved hand in hers. "You found me here."

"I did," Rick said, "Because I would like to take you all for breakfast."

"So long as it's the usual place," Kate replied.

"Yes," Jim agreed, aware it was important to Kate they returned to the same venue where they once dined as a family.

"Anywhere," Castle said.

"You go with Rick, Katie. I will pick up my date and meet you there." He said as he opened the driver's door.

She nodded. They remained silent until Jim's vehicle was rolling forward. "How did you know I would be here?" She asked as they walked to Castle's sedan.

"I knew it was the anniversary. We came here Christmas day, remember, you brought me here before we made lunch," he reminded her.

She smiled, "Oh yeah. You came with me." She waited at the side of the car as Rick opened the passenger door for her. As she stepped in, he playfully yanked off her beanie. She squealed. "Castle! Give back my-"

He closed the door on her racket then hurried around to the driver's side. When he got in Kate glared at him, her hair roughed up. He handed back the beanie with a charming grin while she stared him down.

"Fuck, you're so cute when you're angry." It tumbled from his mouth before he had a chance to put the filter on. He reached out and stroked down strands of static hair. There was a definite look, then she kissed his wrist. "So bloody cute," he repeated.

"You might not think that later," she retorted.

Rick accepted that like she was joking and had a laugh, "So, does your Dad still approve of me?"

She laughed, "He thinks my Mom would have terrorized you."

" _You_ scare me sometimes…." He teased and rubbed his palm along the left thigh of her jeans. "You're so cold." He noticed she held onto the Gerbera like it was precious cargo. She really appreciated the simplest of gestures.

"It is freezing out there." She placed the flower across her lap, pulled off her gloves and put her hands to the car heating. Dad's new girlfriend is joining us, Castle."

"Mm. I heard. That will be nice. Tough venue for her, with you."

Kate thought about that. "No. It's been more than long enough. My dad deserves to be happy and I will enjoy her company. I'm beyond the age of needing a motherly figure."

"True." He responded.

"We both need to move on," she stated. "Do you know where the café is?"

"I do," he replied as he drove out of the cemetery car park. "Alexis, as a young girl, could be quite jealous of women I met."

Kate nodded. She hadn't been around Alexis enough to have seen it. "Alexis is what sixteen?"

"Arr, yup. She's creating her own life now. She's more focused on her schooling, her interests and friends."

"You also take her out at least once a week."

"Yes. To show her how she should expect to be treated as a woman."

"That's really sweet." Kate said, "So how do you do that?"

"Open the car door for her, through the door first, generally …. Well I treat her like I do you." He shot her a glance, "I would like her to have a benchmark to work from when she is dating."

"Mm," she placed her hand over his that had found rest on her thigh. "You are in sync with women, Castle."

"I love women." He replied, perhaps a litte to gleefully. "I was raised by them, loved by them, produced one…" He laughed, because he was mostly taking the piss out of himself, "Can't catch or throw a ball but I can braid hair or hem a dress."

"You're good at picking clothes and my size."

"Because you're easy. Model size." He laughed, but he also noticed Kate didn't really react, You okay?" He asked.

"Yuss. I have the day off and I'm with you." She watched the townhouses flash by, "I don't remember her so well anymore, Castle. It gets harder. Can't picture her face, remember her voice saying my name."

"That's alright, Kate. It's normal. You can't be expected to retain all that. Do you remember all of our first date?"

She smirked, "No. I was nervous."

"Well I don't remember it all either." He lifted his hand to the steering wheel in readiness to make a left hand turn. They were close to the café they were dining at. "Make new memories, Honey. Let this morning be good. But find me a car space."

She smirked, but sat up and looked ahead in search of a place to park. She pointed. "Eight up, there's a space."

Rick pushed forward then braked beside space. He expertly maneuvered the sedan into the space. He killed the engine. "Wait here." He said and smiled. He left the car, hurried around it to open the passenger side door for Kate. She stepped out, reaching for his hand. He closed the door and stopped on the side walk when she tugged at his arm.

"Castle?"

He looked at her eyes. "What is it?"

"Thank you for finding me today." She put emphasis on her last word, glanced over his shoulder and immediately dropped his hand. "Esposito is coming," she hissed.

"What?" He spun around, saw Esposito striding along the pavement towards in the company of a brunette woman, and spun back. "Just be casual," he hissed right back at her, "Who is she?"

Kate shot a further glance over his shoulder, sighted a pretty Hispanic woman at Esposito's left side. "I have no idea. Could be a cousin."

"Cousin?" He pulled his beanie onto his head, kept his back to Esposito. Kate opened the car door and ducked her upper half into the vehicle as though she was retrieving something.

Then it happened.

Detective Esposito walked straight past Castle, deep in a discussion with the woman, and he wasn't worried about his surrounding environment. Castle stared after him in disbelief that the Detective hadn't recognized them. The moment over, Rick tapped Beckett on the backside, indicating it was save to come out. She did and gazed down the street to where her partner travelled.

"That was close," Castle commented.

"Yeah, but why on earth would he be up this part of town on a Saturday morning?" Beckett asked as they commenced their walk in the other direction to their destination.

"Who knows? He didn't notice us. He wouldn't be looking for us here either." Castle pointed, "There's your Dad."

She searched and smiled when she sighted her father approaching from the other direction with a tall brunette woman.

"She looks similar to you, Kate."

"My Mom. Dad has a particular taste. Most of his girlfriends have resembled Mom in some way." She slipped her hand into Rick's confident they wouldn't be sprung by anyone else. They walked until they were face to face with Jim and his lady friend, Lisa.


	63. Chapter 64

Chapter 64 - A ROSE FOREVER AFTER

Kate watched her father walk away from the table to go to the rest room. She also kept watch on his partner who was at the counter. Once her Dad was out of hearing range, she turned to Castle.

"She's very nice, Dad's girlfriend."

"She is and she's good for him, Kate."

"She is."

He wriggled a little, "Kate, can I ask a question?"

"Personal or general?"

"Arrr, falls into personal."

She bit her lip and gave a nod.

"How was your life after your Mother died? You give me snippets…"

She drew a deep breath, "Well, one could say I turned feral for a while," she quietly told Rick then searched his face for a reaction. He stayed neutral, waited for her to continue. Feeling comfortable she did.

"I broke up with my boyfriend. Gave him no reason. Quit school. I was gone a lot, would go to bars, clubs. There were nights I didn't come home. Woke up in strange beds, places." She shrugged her right shoulder. "Would find my Dad in the mornings face planted somewhere between the living room and his bedroom. I was lost. He was lost. Couldn't work. The person who kept me grounded was gone. Dad was out of control. One morning I came home, found him in a bad state and that was enough. One of us had to be the responsible person. I guess it was to be me. I stopped running." She glanced between the doorway and Rick's face. She gently tugged the chain from beneath her clothing to present the engagement ring that hung from her neck most days. Rick took the ring in his fingers, studied it as Kate said, "I took possession of this ring. It meant a lot to my Mom. I lost her but somewhere it saved me."

Castle clenched the ring in his hand, leaned in and pressed his lips to her temple. "Thank you." He whispered. Her father was on his way back to the table, and his girlfriend met him on her return from the counter.

Castle released the jewelry that dropped against Beckett's chest. He quietly shared, "Your Dad is coming and I want to kiss you like I'm gonna die tonight."

"Not tonight," she murmured, her eyes flicking between his lips and eyes. "Please."

Rick pulled back, cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Kate."

She bit her bottom lip once again, put a finger to his lips, "Shhh. But I want the kiss."

He smiled, leaned back in and gave her a kiss. He then sat up as her father and Lisa rejoined them at the table.

"You two are still …"

"No, Dad." Kate replied smiling. She sat back, "We were just discussing something."

"Well, shall we get out of here?"

Kate nodded, glanced to Castle and began to gather her things. Castle went for his wallet but Jim held up a hand.

"Already done, Rick." He smiled, "Thank you for coming for breakfast on our anniversary."

"A pleasure," he replied as he reached for Kate's coat that hung over the back of a chair. He held it up and she slipped her arms into it. Ready to leave, they made their way to the entrance.

A half hour later Rick closed the door to Kate's apartment, thankful to be out of the cold. He pulled off his coat and hung it alongside Beckett's, took off his sweater so he was down to a shirt and jeans. Kate kept the apartment warm. Neither of them had plans for the day so they decided a quiet day in after a long week would be a great idea. With his laptop bag in hand he went to the kitchen to make a coffee.

"Want coffee?" He called out to Kate who'd gone to her bedroom.

"Please."

He prepared the coffee machine, then while it was brewing he made a grocery list for later. As usual, Beckett's fridge was absent of food. He wouldn't get much, as chances had it, they'd end up going out for dinner. She'd recently bought a dress online, which apparently looked good with a pair of boots she already owned. She required an excuse to wear it. Her hints had been as subtle as a sledge hammer.

"Would your new dress be suitable for Cirque?" He shouted.

"Sure." She appeared, dressed in yoga pants and a loose fitted woolen sweater. Her feet were deep in Ugg boots.

"You're in for the day," he commented.

"Too cold to go out."

"Cool. I will write. I'm in re-write stage, and have a twist I didn't see coming and Erin wants the book finished in four weeks."

Kate smiled, "Really?" She crept in closer as he raised his arms to allow her in.

"Yes." He saw her expression of seduction, "Don't get any ideas." It was a playful warning.

"When can I read it?"

"Soon. I promise." He lowered his arms embracing Kate who pressed herself against him. "I wanna make sure she has come to life out of the pages before I give it to you to read."

"Okay."

For a while they relaxed on the couch, one to each end. Rick was busy on his MacBook Air proofreading and rewriting and Kate was seemingly engrossed in a novel. They had music playing. Castle wasn't aware that Beckett was developing a bit of a plan. She rose from the couch and walked to the bedroom without saying a word. Not disturbed, Castle worked on. General noises emanated from the room for a few minutes before Kate re-appeared in a change of clothing. What caught his eye was her bare leg, skin quite white from the winter. She padded across the floor to the kitchen in a skimpy piece of clothing he hadn't seen before.

"What you doing, Beckett?" He asked, his eyes returning to the screen. He caught the scent of perfume freshly applied.

"Getting a bottle of water. You want one?"

"Yes please. I mean with the outfit?"

She glanced to her clothing. "Oh. Just going through my wardrobe."

He then looked at her, "Well I think you should keep that. Very sexy.'

"I will." She fetched a couple of bottles from the fridge, "I have a few things to clear out…" she paused in front of him, waiting for his attention. She held out the bottle.

As he reached for it she lifted it away. He frowned, saw the glisten in her eyes and immediately smiled. "Oh, I see. Beckett wants to play."

"Maybe." She smirked, passed him the bottle then strolled off to the bedroom. As she walked through the doorway she glanced over her shoulder at him. Castle momentarily raised his left eyebrow, but made the decision to not bite on the bait. He wanted to see her seduce him. With her gone to the bedroom releasing a disgruntled grunt, he resumed his work. The problem was, he was now partially distracted. His mind wandered, reminisced about intimate moments with his girlfriend. His body responded accordingly to the memories, the idea of making love quite appealing.

She was rifled through her belongings with the intention of gaining his full attention. The plan was to play hard to get for a while, wind him up. With that in mind she found a pair of stay up stockings, a short black skirt and a white sheer top. She dressed in the items and chose a pair of heeled boots. Her hair was tied up on top of her head, red lip stick applied and she found old black framed reading glasses she had for a fancy dress party. Her reflection in the mirror was satisfactory. Office girl in skimpy outfit. She giggled at herself.

"Beckett? What are you up to?"

Kate glanced at the doorway, "Nothing. Just doing a stock take on my clothes."

"What you wearing?"

"Nothing."

"Naked nothing?"

Kate grinned, rolled her eyes and squawked back, "No!"

She straightened up to her full height, chin poised. She imagined she was an office girl, sleazy office girl and with that thought she grabbed a novel from the floor beside the bed. Carrying herself with elegance she walked from the bedroom into the living room.

"Geezus."

Kate stopped when she heard Rick speak. She gave him a questioning look and tried not to laugh when she saw his keen expression. "What?"

"Look at you. Boyhood fantasy. No. I correct myself. Every man's fantasy." He shut his computer and placed it on the coffee table, "Come here."

"No." She laughed, "You said you have to work."

"With you walking around like that?"

She waved her right hand in front of her body, "Off limits, Writer Boy," she responded and continued on her path to the book shelf. She didn't hear nor expect Rick to creep up behind.

A hand snaked around her waist. She squealed, laughed as Rick pulled her into his embrace. He growled playfully into her right ear, nibbled at the side of her neck.

"You look so hot." He stated holding her firm.

"Get back to work." She squirmed and giggled.

"I cannot work with you strutting around like this." Using his strength, he turned her about and coerced her to the wall. They laughed hard and loud. Kate struggled to escape her boyfriend's grasp and Castle tackled her lean body until he picked her up. She squealed, gripped his shoulders, leaned in to kiss him. She got quite involved, kissed him deeply her fingers in his hair. He blindly began to stagger his way to the bedroom.

They parted for air. They looked to each other's eyes.

"Castle," she whispered.

"Bedroom?" He suggested.

"No. You're meant to be working." She stated matter of fact.

"Done working."

A rap on the front door had the pair abruptly fall silent and look to the entrance. Kate then looked back at Rick, her eyes wider than normal.

"Who is it?" He hissed, letting her to the floor.

They waited and seconds later the knocking sounded again. A voice followed with, "Kate? Are you home?"

"Oh my God." Kate whispered, her hands falling from Rick's shoulders. "Its, Lanie. Hide."

"You can't answer the bloody door. Look at you!" He glanced down at the skimpy outfit she was attired in.

"Fuck." She bit her bottom lip, then patted his upper arm. "Turn on your computer, go answer the door, we are working on your book and I am in the bathroom."

"Kate." He pleaded, gritted his teeth when she took off to the bathroom to the connected to her bedroom.

Rick opened his laptop, glanced to the bedroom to see her body as she grabbed clothing then shot into the bathroom, closing the door. She was certainly quick. He tidied his hair that had been ruffled by Kate's hands, tidied his shirt, all of which was done as he stepped across the living room to the front door. As Lanie timidly knocked a third time, he unlocked the door then opened it.

He smiled, then said "Hi."

Lanie's expression of surprise was priceless. He wanted to laugh.

"Richard?"

"Yeah?" He pointed over his shoulder. "Beckett's in the little girl's room. Come in." He stepped back allowing her entry and he closed the door behind her. That was when he saw a pair of his runners under the rack of Beckett's coats. He swiftly gave them a kick, shoving them until they were concealed. That had him scanning the apartment in search of any item that would provide an indication he frequented the small apartment as he followed the doctor the short distance to the living area.

Lanie turned about to face him, "You're here?" She couldn't help but ask, confusion written over her face.

"I am. Beckett's helping me out with getting a chapter right." He sat upon Beckett's sofa that was invitingly comfortable, dragged the laptop closer then waved his thumb over the pad. Lanie made her way to the middle of the room and sat upon a stool by the kitchen counter.

"Helping you write?"

"Getting the facts correct. Authentic."

"You'd think he would have learned something by now following me around like he does." Beckett said, her tone having quite the dig at the writer, who frowned and rolled his eyes at Lanie.

"She's a ball breaker," he muttered, a hand rubbed recklessly through his hair in an attempt to feign frustration, and to show Lanie how his hair had got messed up.

"Huh! I've been fixing-"

"What I don't get with you two-" Lanie interrupted, a hand waving between the two of them, "Is why you weren't in that bedroom fucking like crazy and ignoring my knocking."

Kate's jaw slackened her mind unable to instantaneously process the direct comment from Lanie. She glanced to Rick who seemed to remain non-fussed.

Then she snapped out of is and said, "Oh, Lanie," Kate approached Lanie to give her a hug. As she squeezed her friend in a warm embrace, she murmured, "That's because we were winding up when you knocked. We were almost in the bedroom." She then stepped back with a giggle that served to tell how amused she was at her own humour.

"Beckett." Castle warned, his eyes not leaving the screen, "Don't lead your best friend along. Tell her the truth." He then looked up at Lanie and saw he had her full attention.

"What's the truth?" Lanie asked.

"We were making out like mad when you knocked on the door." He raised an eyebrow. "We were just beginning."

Beckett calmly walked into the kitchen, "In your dreams, Castle." She unconsciously touched her full lips that still tingled from their kissing.

"You two." Lanie sighed in frustration, "I don't know what to believe."

"Believe me," Kate replied with a smug smile, "I'm not sleeping with a man who likes to show off his trophies on page 6."

Rick snorted, "Get over yourself, Beckett. Maybe those women are my agent's way of marketing my books."

"Whatever." Kate dismissed, then said to Lanie, "Writer boy got the process wrong for arresting someone in his manuscript, because he doesn't like paper work." She shot Rick a look.

"All I say is, you two look very comfy here alone, on a cold Saturday."

"Well, in all fairness Lanie, Beckett and I do spend a lot of time together when we're chasing murderers."

"The suffering I have to live through." Beckett commented then popped a sweet in her mouth, "We're nearly done with rewriting. You've given us a much needed break."

"I was thinking you'd be alone today," Lanie focussed her attention on Kate, "I didn't want that on the anniversary." She stated.

"That," Rick replied, "Is the real reason I'm here. Turn it into a good day." He closed the lap top.

Kate nodded, glancing to the bunch of flowers. She reached out and touched a pink rose, "Castle gifted me with these beautiful flowers this morning."

Lanie smiled casting her gaze over them. They were prominently displayed in the middle of the kitchen counter. "They're lovely."

Castle quietly raised an eyebrow surprised Kate had shared that information with Lanie, when he knew how protective she was of their relationship. He usually gave her flowers without a reason, but today it was to bring pleasure to what potentially could be a gloomy day. "Thank you." He replied, then stood, "I'm going to leave you ladies to it." He pointed at the door, "I'll see myself out."

"No, no." Lanie held up a hand.

"Please stay. Beckett and I did more than enough on my script." He walked to the door, grabbed his coat on the way out and left closing the door behind him.

Immediately Lanie leaned over the counter and said to Beckett, "Why aren't you …"

"Lanie." It was followed with several shallow breaths in which Kate quickly contemplated whether she needed to share her secret, but 'no' emerged within her thoughts. She wasn't ready. They weren't ready. "I don't have feelings for him that way." She found herself saying, but struggled to look at the doctor's face for fear of being seen as a liar. "I mean I really enjoy his company but that's it."

"Well it's a start." Lanie said.

"We're partners." Kate confirmed and gave a nod, finally finding a place, a label, she was comfortable to admit to. She also simultaneously recognised Lanie was attired with yoga pants. "Did you go to yoga this morning?"

"No, I'm on my way but also dropped by to see if you wanted to join me."

Beckett glanced at the time. Lanie was aiming for the noon class they often attended together if time allowed. "I'm in. Let me get changed."

"Okay."

Kate grabbed her phone and headed to the bedroom. Before she found her yoga gear, she sent Castle a text to tell him where they were going. He tapped back he would grab a few grocers to prepare their lunch while she was at yoga.

The smell of cooking was in the hallway when Beckett returned to the apartment. She used her key to let herself inside and found Rick in the kitchen in the midst of a major cook. He had saucepans on the stove and the oven was going. It took her back a moment. She rarely had an apartment that smelt like home on a Sunday but here it was. Having Castle at her apartment on a Sunday was unusual because he preferred them to be at the loft for family time with Alexis. She closed the door.

"Hey!" Castle smiled and continued with cutting vegetables, "Enjoy your class?"

"I did." She dropped the keys in the bowl, shook herself out of her parka coat and hung it up. She hurried to the kitchen keen to see what he was preparing for their meal, "What you making?"

"Well, lunch is in the oven and I'm also preparing dinner. Do you mind if we invite my mother and Alexis over to eat with us?"

"Of course. They will get a chance to see where I live."

"Thank you." He shut up as he gave her a kiss. "Gosh, you're so warm."

"Yoga does that …" She smiled, "This smells awesome. Like a home."

"Of course. We make a home, Kate."

"Let me help," she washed her hands and returned, snatching the tea towel from Castle's shoulder to dry her hands. "What can I do?"

"Start chopping." He passed her a knife and cutting board.

With the chopping underway she asked, "How was the conversation about us with Lanie?"

"Very funny is what it was." He smirked, "Tell her the truth and make it a joke."

"Mm." She bit her lip, "I told her I thought I saw Espo this morning when I had breakfast with my Dad-"

"And?"

"She didn't know why he would be there."

"The woman he was with?"

"Nope. Nothing."

They momentarily fell silent. Rick wiped his hands, stepped to Kate and wrapped his arms around her, which caused her to let the knife down on the board. "You think we got away with it?" He asked drawing her body to his. She leaned against him loving his affection.

"We might have dodged a bullet," she replied, "Like Lanie didn't ask about us anymore, and we did class and I left her after that to run home," she smiled, turned her head and pressed lips playfully to his cheek, "To be with you, Castle."

"We know how to say the right things, don't we," he commented.

"Mm. Thank you for making my day enjoyable."

"You're welcome. Now get cutting."

Beckett woke in her bed alone for the first day in a few mornings. She lay a while, not quite ready to get up but too conscious to fall back to sleep. No Castle to prod awake, to fend off, to make her coffee. Yesterday, after a very late evening of playing games with Castle's family, she and Castle had slept in until almost midday Sunday. They had then gone to a matinee movie. After a bite to eat, they had parted company and she had returned home by herself. He went home to spend time with Alexis. The team was on call that morning, three days off already gone and almost forgotten.

Awake only a few minutes, her work phone started to ring with Ryan's ring tone. She sighed. Unfortunately, someone had been found murdered. It was time to get up. She dialed Rick's cell phone to let him know but there was a murder but after six or so rings the call went to voice mail.

Forty minutes later, while on her way to the murder scene at a top end hotel, Kate called Castle a few more times but he didn't pick up. She hung up a final time on her way down the hall towards Esposito and Ryan who waited. They led her into a hotel room. By the end of the bed spilt backwards out of a wardrobe to the carpet was a deceased woman. The body was awkwardly positioned.

Esposito quietly spoke as he updated Beckett, "Victim is Sophie Ronson, thirty five. She's in from LA for the wedding."

Kate looked about them around the hotel room noting not much was out of place beside the usual, and that the dress the deceased wore was expensive.

She asked, "Was she a guest?"

Esposito said, "Mm-mmm. A bridesmaid. The bride came looking when Miss Ronson didn't show up for her hair and makeup. Found her stuffed in that armoire." He pointed at the piece of furniture.

Beckett momentarily scanned the armoire with its door open, the deceased's feet close inside it. She leaned over to speak to Lanie who was knelt on the carpet, preparing the body for removal. "Hey Lanie. What do you see?"

"Preliminary cause is asphyxiation. And from the way her windpipe is crushed, I'd say the killer choked her from behind. We've got contusions on her throat, one of her earrings is missing. It looks like it was yanked from her lobe." She pointed at the bloodied ear lobe.

Esposito added, "We searched the room. The earring is not here."

"Get CSU to print out a picture of the earring so that uniforms can start searching the hotel," Beckett said to Esposito who gave a nod.

"Yeah, will do."

Beckett returned her attention to Lanie, "Time of death?"

"Based on temperature and lividity, I'd say between 3 and 5 am this morning."

Beckett said, "Thanks you, Lanie."

"Mm-hmm."

Beckett walked with Ryan and Esposito into the hallway. She asked the boys to have a chat with hotel security, to obtain their surveillance tapes, records of key cards and, a list of all registered hotel guests.

With that sorted she asked, "And where are the bride and groom?"

Ryan pointed down the hall, "Bridal suite at the end of the hall. Uh, Greg and Kyra."

"Okay," Beckett said, "Have uniforms assemble the wedding guests in the bar to be interviewed to see if it's one of them we should be arresting"

"Sure," Ryan furrowed his brow, "Where's Castle? You two have been connected at the hips lately." He stopped short of telling her that he and his new girlfriend Jenny, had seen Beckett and Castle at the movies a couple of evenings after Christmas Day. They had seemed quite cozy which had created much speculation between himself and Jenny."

Beckett said, "I don't know. I figured the death of a bridesmaid would be right up his alley but he's not picking up my calls."

Ryan laughed, "Heard ' _wedding'_ and probably got cold feet."

"Oh, I don't know Ryan, Castle seems quite the domestic type." Beckett replied.

"He might also be good at domesticating," Ryan retorted.

Kate paused, knotted her brow in thought. She could have sworn there was subtext in Kevin's comment. There was an urge to ask if he thought that Rick was working at domesticating her. After all, Rick was a man who wasn't afraid of commitment and in fact, he made her feel confident that she was one half of a secure relationship

"Domesticating," she repeated.

"Getting women into relationships …"

"I thought he messed them up," she replied when in fact she was the one who was more likely to fuck things up. It was after all known by most of her friends that she only dated for a while before she would break up. This one she wanted to remain in.

"Don't bet money on it, Ryan." She replied as she walked away.

"I'm pretty sure, Kate." He called after her.

During the time Beckett interviewed the bridal pair, Greg and Kyra, her mind used a lot of the time and energy wondering why Rick hadn't called her back or shown up. She also noted to herself she wasn't particularly happy she fretted about is lack of response.

Beckett asked, "When was the last time that you saw Sophie?"

The bride to be immediately answered, "At the rehearsal dinner last night." She glanced between Greg and the detective, "I don't even think I talked to her. She came all this way for us, and I don't think I even said hello."

"It's not your fault, Kyra. It was a crazy day," Greg comforted.

"Did you talk to her after I went up to bed?"

"No. You know how Uncle Teddy is. He wouldn't let me leave without doing tequila shots. I escaped up to my room around one. I'm not sure if Sophie was still at the bar." Greg replied.

Beckett said, "The two of you weren't in the same room last night?"

"No," Krya replied.

Greg added. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

Kate pushed herself to focus, thought about questions to ask as she glanced about the bridal suite the bride and groom were in. It was quite plush but some of the hotel rooms Rick had taken her to during the time they had been dating were far nicer.

She asked, "Is there anything else you can tell me about Sophie? Like, was she in a relationship? Did she have any enemies?" Her phone vibrated with an incoming text.

"I don't know. She lived in LA and we were never super close," Kyra answered.

"Sophie introduced us. She's the reason we're together." Greg added, giving Kyra a moment of comfort with a smile and squeeze to her shoulder.

Kyra nodded, "So, when we were planning the wedding, we thought she should be there. But the engagement party was the first time we'd seen her in a couple of years. And now she's dead. Who would do something like this?"

Beckett said, "That's what we're here to find out." She checked her phone. Rick hadn't tried to call her back so she assumed he'd got busy writing. "We'll continue interviews. Best to remain in the hotel room with your guests."

Once the man at the hotel security desk handed Esposito some papers they'd been waiting around for, he and Ryan commenced to make their way to the lift well to meet up with Beckett who was in the bridal suite on level 6. While they waited for an elevator Esposito scanned the paper work.

"Did he give you the staff security papers?" Ryan asked as they walked.

"Yeah." Espo replied, "He mentioned they do background checks on all their employees. He seemed pretty sure there wasn't a killer amongst them, but he gave me the list. He's also pulling surveillance tapes. Good news is the elevators are all wired. Bad news is the stairwells and hallways aren't." He waved at the elevator that tinged and lit up.

The door opened on it and Castle stepped out of the elevator. He looked from right to left and smiled when he recognized his friends.

Ryan smiled, "Oh, look who it is."

Esposito greeted, "We were about to send out a search party, Castle. Where you been?"

"I got a little tied up with work." Rick replied as he glanced about in search of Beckett, "Which way to the crime scene?"

"Sixth floor."

"Thank you."

Esposito smiled, "Mm-hmm." He watched Castle turn about and walk back to the elevators, "Hey, bro. Is that duct tape on your pants?"

Castle bent around and lifted his foot up where he saw a piece of duct tape stuck to his jeans. "Hmm. Yes. Yes, it is." He ripped it off and threw it in a nearby trash can then hurried back into the elevator.

A minute or so later Castle, Ryan, and Esposito exited the elevator on the 6th floor. Ryan kind of led the way. Rick was busy playing catch up and Esposito was scanning the police checks as they walked.

Castle said, "So, bridesmaid, huh? What happened? Wouldn't get caught dead in that dress?"

"They're actually not that bad." Ryan replied, "A subtle mauve chiffon."

Esposito ceased to read, "Dude, really? Mauve?"

"What? I have sisters. You should have seen their dresses." He pulled a look of disgust, "Hideous."

"Ah, bridesmaid dresses are supposed to be hideous." Castle commented, smiling when he saw who they were approaching.

Esposito said, "Really? Why?"

Beckett replied, "So that the bride looks more beautiful in comparison." She cautiously glanced at Castle.

Castle said, "Ah, see? Not a woman alive who doesn't think about her wedding day, not even Kate Beckett." He scanned her from head to toe, longing to say how pretty she looked that morning. They hadn't seen each other a couple of days and he'd missed her. He so wanted to say it, but instead he faced her and said, "Tell me you never tore a picture of a wedding gown out of a magazine."

Beckett stared right back as she affirmed, "I've never torn a picture of a wedding gown out of a magazine."

Castle who had carefully observed Beckett, pointed a finger at her, "You're lying." He glanced to Ryan, "She's lying." He reinforced then followed Beckett who continued on through a doorway.

Ryan smirked, shrugged his shoulders, "Mm-hmm."

They entered the bridal suite. Castle soon sighted the back of the bride with her bridesmaids standing close by.

Castle leaned towards Ryan and mumbled, "So, who's the unlucky bride?"

"Uh, her name is..."

Castle saw the woman turn and immediately recognized her, "Kyra?"

The woman immediately turned about to find the man who had spoken. It was the woman he knew. "Rick?" She said, "Rick Castle?"

Beckett glanced between the bride and her boyfriend. "You two know each other?"

Castle sobered realizing where he was, who he was with. "That would be an understatement."

Rick and Kyra stepped away from their respective groups after they greeted each other with a polite hug. Kate watched on, not sure what had just happened. She wanted to know how Rick knew the woman, and at the same time, she understood by the way they had looked each other they had history.

"I read somewhere that you were working with the police, but I- I never would've expected to... How long has it been?"

Castle replied, "Too long."

"You look exactly the same," Kyra remarked.

Castle smiled and commented, "And you've improved."

She smiled warmly, "You always did know how to turn a phrase." She paused. "This is so surreal. It's my wedding day and you show up."

Beckett hesitantly interrupted, "Excuse me, Castle, Lanie's got something for us."

Castle said without looking away from Kyra, "I'll catch up."

Beckett pressed her lips again, "Hmm. Okay." She stepped away and quietly headed out of the bridal suite back to the room in which the deceased woman had been discovered.

On the way down, she tried not to think about how well Rick knew the bride. Not that it mattered. The woman was in town to be married to the love of her life. But it still managed to bother Kate that Rick had stayed with Kyra to catch up with her. Alone, she walked in to the hotel room to find Lanie still working on the body.

Beckett asked, "What'd you find?"

"Once I turned her over, I saw these abrasions across her upper back." Lanie pointed at the wounds, "They were definitely made before she died, probably during the struggle."

"Any idea what made them?"

"No, but there's an odd shape to the wounds. I'll have a better idea once I get her back to the lab."

"Okay."

"So, how's everything going in the bridal suite? Not the day they had planned."

"Yeah, or the surprise guest." Kate paused, thought about what she was about to say and then just said, "Apparently, Castle has a history with the bride." She bit her lip.

"Ancient, modern, or sexual?" Lanie asked suddenly interested.

"Seems like all of the above," Beckett answered.

Concerned, Lanie inquired, "You okay with that?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Lanie gave her a look. "I've seen how you look at Castle, Kate."

Beckett frowned, "Just keep me posted on the labs."

"Mmm-hmm." She replied, "You know where I am if you need to talk."

"I won't need to," Kate responded, "I will talk to you later, Lanie."

She walked out the room and back to the elevator foyer all the time wondering about Castle and his relationship with the bride. It was what it was and given time, she was confident he would tell her about his past with Kyra. That didn't stop her feeling very uneasy. Castle was publicly known to be a playboy with the ladies, but privately she hadn't been witness to any misbehavior with women with the exception of herself. He was devoted to his family and committed to her more than any man she'd date. It didn't stop the insecurity she felt.


	64. Chapter 65

Chapter 64

Castle spent a few minutes catching up with Kyra, mainly because he had an overwhelming desire to learn how she had arrived at this place at this moment, on the day she was to marry another man. Bullet point update was fine but he had to know. He found it difficult to believe he had bumped into his first serious girlfriend on her wedding day. Once upon a time, Kyra was a woman he would have married, until the day she had left him to go overseas. Two marriages, a good handful of women and one child later he was suddenly faced with who he'd begun with.

The conversation was easy and awkward. It was a polite bullet point update of how Kyra had ended up in a New York hotel to be married. The guy was nice, apparently wore a suit and when he did show up, Rick was surprised to see how ordinary and down to earth he was. Exactly how Kyra's description had Castle imagine the guy. While they had dated, Kyra had been the constant sensible half of their relationship. The yin to his yang. Now she seemed to have found someone at her intellectual level, her persona.

Meeting Greg, Kyra's future husband, was easy, and caused Rick to realize that he had moved on from Krya a long, long time ago. Drastically moved on. They'd been kids, young adults. Now older and wiser, he was also happier where he was now. Very happy.

"Do they think the murderer's still in the hotel?" Greg asked of Castle after they'd done the usual meet and greet routine.

Castle gave it some thought then said, "Well, that depends on whether the attack was random or someone she knew."

"Are you saying it could be one of our guests?" Kyra asked seemingly surprised.

"We have to consider every possibility."

"You'll have to excuse us." Greg said, then said mainly to Kyra, "We have people arriving downstairs."

Castle said, "Of course."

It was when Greg and Kyra left the room leaving Castle alone, that Beckett happened to enter in search of her partner. She glanced over her shoulder at the couple who walked through the entry, then looked to Castle who seemed a little taken aback. She decided immediately to act disinterested in knowing how he knew the bride. Be casual and not allow the emotions to poke their noses in on the action.

Not looking at her face, he began to speak, "Kyra Blaine. Wow." It was quietly expressed. "Can't believe it."

Like a detective, Beckett analyzed his tone, observed his pupils change size, his Adam's apple bob a little. He was emotionally reacting to the presence of the woman and she felt he'd made the comment to mainly see what sort of reaction she was going to have. She chose to remain neutral.

Beckett cautiously queried with a soft tone, "I take it she was someone very special."

She saw that Castle thought about her comment. As a couple and working partners, they had agreed early on to be honest with each other. He breathed in deeper, stared in the direction Kyra had gone with her fiancé and directly replied, "She's the one that got away."

It was like a punch to her gut. Kate exhaled suddenly. Her heart skipped a beat, she was sure of it, and her temperature flared. Her mind went blank. For a moment, she stood still, unable to move as Rick followed Kyra from the room unaware of what impact his words had made. Suddenly, before he noticed, she shook herself out of it and hurried after him. Numb. Totally numb.

His words echoed as she fell in beside him.

By the time they met with Ryan and Esposito, Beckett had pushed Castle's comment out of her conscious thoughts. The boys had managed to question all the guests to the wedding as well as those in the wedding party. The only person not checked off the list was a chap by the name of Mike Weitz who also happened to be missing. None of the guests asked had seen Mike since the night before.

With a missing man and a murdered woman, a search was promptly done of his room. The bed was made, his tux was still hanging in the closet and his key card showed his last entry was roughly at 2 am. His toothbrush and bags were still in his room. With him not in the hotel room, security started searching the premises for missing Mike. They also checked all their security cameras to see whether he had left the accommodation.

With their hands on a bunch of handy-dandy digital video cameras that had recorded the previous night's festivities Beckett and her team scrubbed footage. What they discovered in those videos was the deceased had taken a call in the rehearsal and had left the room just after 7.40 pm. Sophie's cell phone history showed the call came from hotel lobby.

When they checked some photos of the surveillance footage of the hotel lobby they recognized a lowkey drug dealer named Boyd Gamble. The man mostly weed and coke back in the day. Did a couple years for assaulting another drug dealer who was trying to muscle in on his turf. Beat him up real bad, too.

Beckett instructed the boys to bring in Gamble for a chat. Castle decided he wanted to go with them, which was okay with her. She needed a bit of time to process a few things.

A few moments after she departed for the Precinct, Beckett entered the elevator with Kyra at her side. Both turned to face the doors as they slid closed.

Beckett who was on a call with Esposito said, "Great. Go pick him up." She hung up the call then lowered her hand, and acknowledged Kyra in the elevator.

Kyra smiled pleasantly, "Was that about Mike?"

Beckett considered her answered then said, "Uh, no. Just following up on a lead." She paused, then commented, "Your dress is lovely, by the way."

"Oh," Kyra smiled, "Thank you so much." She looked at Kate, "It's Kate, right?"

Beckett nodded, "Yeah."

"I feel like I know you a little. From Nikki Heat, the dedication."

Beckett felt her cheek heat up, "Oh."

"I still read all of Rick's books."

Beckett smiled a little shyly, currently unsure whether Castle had told Kyra they were secretly dating, He shouldn't have as they had made a promise to tell no one. She shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, well, most of that book is just a result of Castle's overactive imagination." It was something she immediately regretted saying as it projected as dumb and dismissive. Kyra's body language told Kate she didn't agree with the comment.

"It's funny that you call him that, Castle." Kyra remarked, "When I knew him, he was just Rick, fresh off his first best-seller." For a moment or two she left that comment in the air, looked over the taller woman, "Well, overactive imagination or not, I know he only dedicates his books to people he really cares for."

Kate swallowed. She was conscious of how much she meant to Castle. There had been conversations about creating a life together, having kids one day, being together forever. She imagined the same things as he did. Now Kyra was here, the one who got away.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky." Kate replied.

It was established quite quickly that Boyd Gamble was a drug dealer who supplied to a regular client base, but he wasn't a murderer. He readily admitted to meeting Sophie at the hotel and to supplying her with a specialty item. The specialty item was Flunitrazepam, more commonly known as Roofies. Learning this piece of information had Castle on a roll that Beckett was beginning to regret especially when she had him alone at the hotel.

After a mega monolog of comments from Castle about roofies, Beckett decided to wind him up a bit more. She asked as they observed a room full of wedding guests eating and drinking. "But Castle, seriously, why would a bridesmaid need roofies?"

It got Castle excited again. "I know right. You want to take advantage of a guy, knocking him unconscious kind of defeats the purpose."

"You don't need a roofie." Beckett chuckled.

"Never. Best way? Just ask. In fact, you looking at me is enough provocation." Rick suddenly sobered, stiffened and grew taller.

"Really Castle? She stopped, noticing he was suddenly distracted by a woman approaching. Beckett recognized her as the bride's mother.

"Hello, Sheila," Castle stiffly greeted.

The mother of the bride turned and her smile dropped when she recognized Castle.

"Richard." She greeted as cold as ice, "Figures you'd be at the heart of this mess."

Castle frowned, clearly not willing to conceal his distaste of Kyra's mother, and he said, "Detective Beckett, this is Sheila Blaine, mother of the bride." He paused then couldn't help but say, "So, I guess I didn't end up homeless or teaching at a third-rate college in New Hampshire after all."

Sheila glared down her nose at him, "There's still time."

Castle smirked, and with the new found realization he no longer had to be nice he replied with a good dose of sarcasm, "I've missed our special talks." He turned to Beckett and frankly explained, "Sheila didn't approve of struggling artists." He almost laughed at Beckett's perplexed expression. Back to Sheila, he suggested, "You must like Greg, though. He's from money, right?"

The elderly woman frowned with frustration, "It was never about the money, Richard. It was about character. And you would know that, if you had any."

Beckett's jaw fell open. Sheila walked away.

Beckett closed her mouth, glanced between Ms Blaine and Castle as she said, "Wow. Just imagine, if things had worked out, you'd be spending Thanksgivings with her."

Castle immediately shuddered. Beckett's cell phone rang out.

"What a bitch." She whispered as she took the call. She watched Rick pull a face of horror, smiled in amusement then greeted, "Beckett. Okay, great." She hung up and said to Castle, "They think they found Mike. Come on."

He obediently followed, glad to get out of the room.

Mike Weitz was found locked in a cleaning closet, banging on the door to be let out. His anger was directed at Sophie who had locked him in the closet the night before. He also claimed Sophie had brought him a drink, acted all flirty and he strongly suggested she had drugged him. They didn't have a history, had only met once or twice at these sort of functions with Kyra and Greg but he didn't remember that they had even talked on the previous occasions.

In summary, Mike Weitz didn't have a clue why Sophie would want to drug him. Period.

When Beckett and Castle were alone, and it was safe to speak, Beckett turned to Castle and asked in a hushed tone, "What the fuck was Sophie up to last night, Castle? Roofies on a man, locked him in a cleaner's closet? Seriously!"

"I know right. All she had to do is ask. He was useless with a Roofie under his belt." Castle said, "She went out of her way to get those drugs, she definitely had a plan."

"What kind of a bizarre plan is that?"

Castle pondered carefully before he said, "Maybe... No. I got nothing."

When they stopped in the elevator foyer, Beckett pulled out her phone and dialed, "Espo. Its me." She looked to Rick's face, settling on his eyes and watched her.

She continued, "We need information on Sophia. Can you and Ryan start investigating our victim's life. I want to know everything about Sophie Ronson from the moment that her plane landed in New York till the moment she was found dead. Who she called, what she did and where she ate. I'll make the call to obtain a warrant on financials for a Sophie Ronson." She listened to Esposito and Ryan, "Yeah. In about an hour it should take. Okay. Bye."

She pocketed the phone and said to Rick. "I'll organize the warrant. I might be an hour or so."

He nodded. I'll see you back here. I'm a bit hungry." He pointed over his shoulder, "Apparently, there is plenty of food going to waste that was for the reception."

"Mm." She nodded, "I'll find you soon."

Castle entered the reception hall where the tables were decorated and set ready for the guests to arrive, guests that would not come today. He thought he'd seen Kyra head in this direction, but he couldn't see her. He wanted to say farewell before he left the hotel with his partner. He was about to leave to catch up with Kate, when he saw a flash of movement. Kyra peeked out from the behind the enormous wedding cake with frosting on her finger. She smiled.

"Couldn't let it go to waste," Kyra began, "How did you find me?"

"I just figured, because you weren't mingling." Castle replied, "You know, asked myself, what was the one place where no one would think to look for you?"

"At a wedding?"

"At your wedding. Where's...?" He got stuck on her fiancé's name. Slipped his mind.

"Greg." Kyra finished.

Castle raised a hand with the index finger pointed upward, "Right." He approached the cake, but his eyes remained on Kyra. They'd been barely adults when they'd been together. Wild, young, a time when everything was so new. Time had caused him to forget the emotions he'd experienced with Kyra. He'd evolved and grown so much since then. He was a man, a father. She'd taught him about love, as had his two wives, but Kate had shown him what it was like to be in love.

"He's taking care of things. He's good at that." She shrugged and licked her fingertip clean of icing, "So, if you don't get married, is it just a regular old cake?"

"It's still wedding cake," Rick answered as he gazed over the impressive piece, "It's tiered, got flowers, it's in a ballroom."

"Mm." She looked over Rick's face, "If things had gone as planned today, I would be twirling around on the dance floor with my husband right about now."

Castle smiled, a fond memory returned, "Do you remember the last time we danced?"

She nodded, smiled, "Under the clock at Grand Central Station."

"You were on your way to JFK to catch a flight to London."

"You were supposed to follow me." Kyra continued.

"You said you needed space."

Kyra sighed, recollecting old moments, "I didn't mean forever, Rick." She dismissed the conversation and gazed over the cake, the reception hall, "So, you've done all of this before?"

Castle shrugged, "Twice."

"And each time, did you think that she was the one?"

Castle said, "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"But it wasn't, was it?"

Castle shook his head.

"Some girls would think what happened today is a sign." Kyra commented, shyly watching Castle.

"The murder?" He could see she was thinking about how they used to be. He sure was, but the memories were not partnered with emotions. They were in the past like his relationship with Kyra now was.

She gave a slight nod, really looked into his eyes, "And you." She then turned her eyes beyond Rick at somone, which caused him to turn about.

He saw Beckett stood patiently by the doorway, her coat on, car keys in her hand.

"Castle?" Beckett called seconds later, "We're on our way. I thought you might need a ride."

Rick acknowledged but turned back to Kyra who said, "I should go upstairs. They'll be looking for me." Things had got awkward very quickly between them with Kate present. Kyra gave Castle a piece of the wedding cake sitting on a napkin.

Beckett watched Castle as he solemnly stared after Kyra, who passed by Kate and left the hall. Castle approached. Beckett tried her hardest not to be jealous, but the emotion bubbling to the surface. He held up the piece of cake Kyra had cut for him.

"Cake?" Rick asked.

Beckett said, "No, thank you." She looked away, collecting her thoughts then asked, "Shall we go? It's getting awfully late."

"Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing my pillow." He said as they walked to the foyer.

Inside the elevator, they were silent for a couple of floors descending, then Rick calmly said, "We met in college. We were together nearly three years." Castle confessed, looking straight ahead.

Beckett timidly glanced at him, and said, "I didn't ask."

"Yes." He swallowed, looked right at her, "You were not-asking very loudly."

Beckett pressed her lips together, making note that she had to work on not being obvious when she was jealous, "She's different from your ex-wives," she commented, making the decision to remove herself from the picture.

"What do you mean?"

Beckett shrugged her shoulders, "She's real, Castle. I didn't think you went for real."

He shrugged his shoulders, gave her a sideways look, and stated, "You're real."

"Touche." She relaxed a little, "Tough breakup?"

"It was a long time ago." He swallowed, turned and looked to her, "A lifetime ago."

For several moments, Kate felt awkward and embarrassed, because she knew she had spoken out of line. "I'm sorry. That was really silly of me to say."

"Mm. Well, we all make mistakes. I think I'm on the right path now. I met the right one." He smiled, which settled her.

Her voice was high, her cheeks blushed, "Maybe."

Rick found her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "You know." He confirmed, using a very soft voice.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out ahead of him, her heart pounding, breaths shallow. She was humming, giddy with light headedness about what he'd just said.

When they were driving back to the Precinct, Rick asked, "Can you drop me off near home?"

She glanced at him, smiled, "Sure. I can swing by your place if you want."

"A few blocks down is fine. I have to pick up some groceries."

She nodded. "Sure."

They fell silent. Kate felt something wasn't right but she let it go. She had to let it go. She pulled over at the curbside a couple of minutes later when Rick pointed out where he wanted to be dropped off. As he undid his seatbelt he asked, "Will you be over tonight?"

"Umm." She stared ahead then looked at him, "Mm. I will go home then come over."

"Dinner will be served once you arrive. Seven pm?"

She nodded. "See you then, Castle."

"You gotta watch, Baby," Rick said as he sat beside her on a stool. "I had to get it on video so I didn't forget, then saw how funny it is."

Kate took the iPad, held it before her and pressed play. The video showed Rick was seated on a chair in the middle of the living room. She glanced questioningly at Castle.

"Audio is on?"

"Yes, Baby," he replied, keen for her to continue.

Kate resumed her viewing of the video. She was aware her boyfriend participated in some outrageous antics but she hadn't. as yet, seen video evidence. But here it was. The footage showed that Alexis was having a terrific time with a roll of duct-tape, a chair and her father.

"Whose idea was this?" She inquired, already betting to herself the answer was Castle's idea.

"Mine, of course. I needed Alexis to bind me there."

"Mm," she responded. "You got your daughter to duct-tape her father, being you, to a chair in the living room."

"Well, when you say it like that…." He grimaced, then whispered, "Just watch."

She saw Castle ensured his daughter roll the tape firmly about his wrists.

He also said, _"Make sure it's nice and tight."_

The audio clearly had Alexis respond with a playful, " _Yes, sir."_ Evidently, she was smiling, quite amused by the whole situation.

From the left of the screen Kate saw Martha descend the stairs and stop at the platform when she saw her offspring with his offspring. " _What on Earth are you two doing?"_

Kate snickered, "I would have asked the same question."

"No, Honey, you would have rolled your eyes and continued on for your morning fix of caffeine and ignored us."

Video Castle answered, " _Research_."

"Maybe," Kate replied, "Research?"

"Of course." He paused the video, at moment when Martha was nearby. "Do you really think I would have someone tie me up for anything else other than research?" He looked at her with innocent blue eyes.

Kate's hazel eyes stared at him with disbelief. "Really, Ricky? How about sexual gratification?"

"Except that, well except you tying me up."

She turned back to the iPad, tight lipped and resumed play on the screen.

Alexis replied to her grandmother, " _Dad has Nikki Heat duct-taped to a chair in his next chapter and he doesn't know how to get her out of it_."

" _I thought, what better way to figure it out than to get into the mind of my character?"_ Castle added.

" _I don't know, Richard." Martha said, "I suppose you could just use your imagination."_

" _I want it to be authentic, Mom." He looked at Alexis, "Hands."_

"Yeah, Castle, what is wrong with your imagination… you've been tied up, tormented…" Kate bit her bottom lip trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Oh yeah and you loved every second of it, dominating, tormenting me…" He defended, "But this is different."

In the footage, Martha waved a dismissive hand at Alexis and Castle, " _Well, hurry taping up your father. We don't want to be late. Oh, God. I can't believe I just said that."_

Curious Castle asked, " _Where are you two off to?"_

" _Gram's got a dress rehearsal. I thought I'd go watch."_ Alexis replied as she continued to tie up her father.

" _Watch me? Or watch the adorable delivery boy in the second act?"_ Martha inquired.

Alexis finished up taping his wrist to the arm, " _Too tight?_ "

Castle tried to move his arms but couldn't, " _Perfect_."

" _Are you sure about your mouth?"_

Castle nodded, " _Like I said, authentic._ " Alexis covered his mouth with a piece of duct tape, " _Mmm_."

Alexis leaned in close. " _This is a dose of reality_." She smiled. " _Nod if you're okay_."

Rick nodded.

Satisfied with her Father's position, she patted his cheek, "Okay, we're off. And after, we might go shopping. So, you don't mind, right?"

She reached for his wallet on the coffee table, opened I and stole the cash from it.

Castle gave her a dirty look.

" _Oh, come on, Dad. We both know you'd have no respect for me if I didn't. Have fun, and good luck."_

"Good on her," Kate muttered. "Having a Dad like you she needs some sort of compensation for her grief."

Martha said on the video, " _I don't know where she gets it from. Honestly, I don't."_

" _Bye Daddy. Have fun."_ She teased.

Martha called out, " _Adios_."

Castle waved his duct-taped hand as they exited. Then his iPhone started to ring on the table behind him.

"That was me calling you?" Kate asked.

With a boyish grin he leaned in, "Yes. That was you. Keep watching."

In the video, he edged his way to the coffee table and tipped the chair over, slamming his face into the glass table top.

Laughter spilt from Kate. "Really, Castle?" She dismissed him with a wave as she continued to watch.

Castle muttered on the video, "Hmm..."

Moments later, having shuffled his way to the kitchen the video showed Castle struggled with the trash can to get it and the chair in the right position. He then pressed his face against the lid.

"What the-?" She muttered. "This is edited right?"

Rick leaned over to see where she was at. "Oh, keep watching. I cut the boring bits out."

Mouth agape, she watched Castle press hard on the foot pedal to raise the lid. It tugged at the duct tape but failed to shift it. He did it again, and again until the tape came unstuck from his skin. It took a few tries, but he managed. He then peered inside the trash can and seemed to find something of interest. He knocked the trash over to get it out. The next challenge was to get the item into his grasp.

He rocked from side to side until he tumbled with the chair to the floor. Kate laughed aloud. Rick smiled, pleased he could create such vivacious laughter.

"Did that hurt?"

"Not initially, but I have a couple of decent bruises."

"Oh, Castle. This has to be the funniest thing I have seen you do." She stifled the laughter to watch him wriggle about on the floor until he managed to grasp the tin can in his right hand. Manipulating the lid of the can, he worked on cutting the duct tape with focus and determination. Once his right hand was free, he rapidly released his left hand still slicing the tape, then finally released his legs. He was free. He stood up, jumped in the air a couple of times with enthusiastic whoops then paced to the camera. Wearing a boyish grin, his hair falling over his forehead, he peered into the lense.

"Did it." He smugly stated then turned off the camera.

Kate put the iPad to her lap and turned her attention to Rick, grinning. "You are hilarious."

"This is not meant to be hilarious, Kate. This is research!"

She took hold of the tumbler, gave her drink a swirl to mix the ice then took a sip. "Still funny."

"Wait till you read how I put it together in my novel."

"Please Castle. You have to keep that video. Do not delete it."

"I won't. Why?"

"One day I want to show this to our kids, show them what a goofball you are."

"Hang on." He paused, licked his lips and subtly pointed a finger, "You've brought up kids again."

"Well, yes, flippantly, I did, but its gonna take me awhile to get to that point, Rick."

"But one day you will get there." He said with some confidence.

"One day, but not today. I'm still in that lust bubble and I wanna stay here a bit longer."


	65. Chapter 66

_This episode is quite fun to work in between and so forth. The ones I think I'm gonna enjoy, I've found hard but this one is enjoyable. Enjoy … small chapter but the next will follow soon as its almost done. Thank you for reviews. I do like receiving them._

 **Chapter 66**

Early the next morning Beckett entered the Morgue because she had been summoned there first thing. The ME had advised her she had important information on the deceased. With that in mind, Beckett had reluctantly rolled off Castle and out of his bed. She had caught a train to the Morgue. Lanie was examining Sophie's body when she pushed the swing doors inwards.

Beckett greeted, "Hey," as she approached the doctor.

"Hey." Lanie seemed bright for the hour of the day.

"You called?" Beckett stopped by the table, mindful to keep her distance to limit the smells of the substances Lanie used infusing her clothing.

"Yes. I found traces of metal in the abrasions on Sophie's back."

"What kind of metal?" Beckett asked aware of the odd expression Lanie had as she assessed her face. It caused Kate to blush a little.

"I have no idea." Lanie blinked and focused on reporting to Beckett. "I sent a sample over to the FBI lab to see if they can narrow down the chemical signature. We should have the results tomorrow."

Beckett nodded, "Okay." She gave it some thought before she asked, "If I find the object that made the wounds, you'll be able to match it?

"Absolutely."

"Great. Anything else?" She raised an eyebrow, the thought crossing her mind that Lanie could have told her that over the phone.

"You tell me." Lanie suggested folding her arms in wait.

Beckett's eyes widened in question, "What?"

"Don't _what_ me. Castle's lost love?"

Beckett raised the eye brows. Deniability at all costs. "Yeah," she shrugged her shoulders, "What about it?"

Frustrated, Lanie retaliated, "Girl, I'm gonna smack you."

"Lan-"

"You work side by side every day." Lanie insisted, "He writes a sex scene in his book about you that had me reaching for iced water."

Kate rolled her eyes, tired of hearing about Nikki Heat.

"Now Little Miss Bride shows up." Lanie pointed at Beckett, "Don't tell me you're not the least bit jealous."

Exasperated, but willing herself to not strongly react Beckett replied, "Oh, please." She waved Lanie's accusation off as she turned about to leave, "You've been inhaling too many autopsy fluids." If only she could share with Lanie she was dating Castle, was experiencing some heavy duty feelings toward him. But a deal was deal. Kate kept going but she heard Lanie yell out.

"Honey, just because you can't see what's going on, doesn't mean everyone else doesn't see what's going on!"

Beckett called back, "Shut up!"

She continued out of the morgue, a sudden feeling of incredible guilty sinking into her conscious about not sharing with her best friend that she was with Castle. That she was having the time of her life in the man's company. She reckoned the doctor was already certain but was waiting impatiently for her to confess. Until that moment, Beckett had been fine when she had woken up beside Castle that morning. Well, he'd woken her with is amorous behavior and that had led to ….

She smiled in fondness, as she walked along the side walk towards the Precinct. Her eyes happened to connect with an approaching man in a grey suit who smiled back, scanned her face. He'd understood her expression. He passed by, at which time she had a little giggle to herself. Castle was right. She was a dead giveaway when she dropped her guard.

While she waited in line for a coffee, she texted Castle with Lanie's information. He would meet her there a bit later. With the coffee in her hand. she walked to the Precinct enjoying the fresh air.

When she arrived, she was teased by Ryan and Esposito who had put their hands on a copy of Castle's early novel _A Rose For Everafter_. She acted as though she didn't care, teased them back as she normally would. She also hadn't realized the novel was dedicated to Kyra until Ryan read it out loud.

 _For Kyra Blaine, you make the stars shine._

The words then stuck in Kate's head most of the day. It pissed her off that it did. Made her dwell on it even more. When the boys had left the bullpen she had found the book to read the dedication for herself. She read it a number of times. She owned a hardcopy of the novel but it hadn't occurred to her last night to take it off the damn shelf and browse the pages. There it was printed in black.

 _For Kyra Blaine, you make the stars shine._

She discarded the book another time to Ryan's desk to get stuck into work but the dedication was stuck like gum to a shoe, in her thoughts.

What else had been pestering her was the matter of Mike's key card. They were missing an important component and she had a gut feeling it had something to do with the key card.

It seemed to be stuck in Castle's brain as well, particularly when he virtually burst out of the elevator calling, "Mike's key card!"

They were in sync.

Happy to have his company they took on a new path of investigation. It led them to scan hotel records that indicated Mike's key card was last accessed his hotel room at 2 am yesterday morning. At that time he had been busy passed out in the supply closet with a belly full of roofies. They needed to know who had used the key card.

It was assumed that as it was Sophie who had drugged Mike, she had stolen the card. But why? That unresolved question was what was hung heavily in the team.

A trip back to the hotel had them discover a connecting doorway from Mike's room to the neighboring room. Its where they found the missing ear ring and learned who was allocated the room. It belonged to Greg, the groom. Beckett requested he attend the Precinct for a chat. And this is where they were at. In the interrogation room. Rick was to her right, Greg the groom before them. Conversation was quite heated and Kate could sense the level of testosterone was rapidly on the rise between the men. The air was tense and she was concerned Castle wasn't going to control himself. This was after all bordering on the fact that Greg may well have cheated on Kyra. Rick hated cheaters, especially if it was his ex-girlfriend who was being hurt.

"This is crazy. I did not kill Sophie Ronson."

"Then how did her earring end up in your room?" Castle asked.

"You have a chance to come clean here, Greg." Beckett offered up, "If I were you, I would take it."

Greg took a couple of breaths. "I got back to the room around one," he admitted, then continued, "I was pretty drunk."

"You were alone."

"Yes. Next thing I know, it was about two in the morning, and somebody was in bed with me, and they had their hands down my pants." Greg was clearly rattled, "I thought it was Kyra. I- I figured she'd changed her mind about spending the night apart."

"But it wasn't. It was Sophie," Beckett finished.

"And you figured," Rick said, "What the hell, love the one you're with."

"No!" Greg sharply responded.

"Oh, come on, Greg!" Castle retorted, "Sophie's a beautiful girl and you were hours away from strapping on the ball and chain for life."

"No." Greg glanced to Beckett, maybe seeking support, "I love Kyra. I would never cheat on her, especially with Sophie."

"Why especially with Sophie?" Beckett calmly asked.

Castle asked, "Had you slept with her before?"

"Why is he here? He's a writer, not a cop."

Beckett sighed, fidgeted, noting the testosterone in the room was on the rise once again. She decided to pursue a response to Rick's question, "Answer the question, Greg. Did you ever sleep with Sophie?"

"Once or twice. But it was before Kyra and I even met, and we both knew that it was a mistake.

Castle said, "A mistake that Sophie tried to repeat. Or maybe she succeeded."

"No. When I saw her, I freaked. I shoved her away, she fell on the floor. That must've been when her earring came off. Before I could do anything else, she ran out the door. I mean, it all happened so fast, it di- it didn't even seem like it was real."

Beckett said, "Why didn't you say anything when you found out that Sophie was murdered?"

"Because I knew how it would sound, Detective."

"Pretty much like it sounds right now." Castle replied, "Like a lie." His expression nothing short of hostile.

Greg glared at Beckett, his temper flaring. "Okay, that's it. I want him gone. He's clearly got it out for me 'cause he wants to get back in my fiancée's pants."

"I'm not the murder suspect here, Greg."

To Beckett, Greg stated, "I am done answering questions until he is gone."

Castle replied, "You don't make demands here, Greg."

Beckett turned to her partner, and kindly said, "Castle. Go and see if Ryan and Esposito have come back with the forensics from Greg's hotel room."

Castle considered her request, decided it was in his best interest to obey. He stood. He glared at Greg before he turned about and walked from the box.

When the door was closed, Beckett sat forward, looked into Greg's eyes and said, "Now walk me through what happened again."

When Beckett escorted Greg and his Uncle Terry to the foyer of the elevator, she felt the glare of Castle from where he was seated at her desk. She remained polite to the men, but beneath she was becoming impatient with the whole case. Not only did she had Rick playing up with this situation with Greg, she had the fact she had the one who got away circling Rick's orbit. There was the strong possibility Greg could be a single man after he returned to the hotel to Kyra.

Once the elevator had swallowed them up, Beckett joined Castle at her desk.

As she sat, Castle remarked, "Can't believe you're letting him just walk out of here."

Beckett unlocked her computer, "Yeah, well, I don't have enough evidence to convict him."

"Don't tell me you believe that story, Beckett. It's like a porn movie gone wrong."

"Exactly." She smirked at his comment, "And if you were going to make up a story, would you make up something like that?"

Castle gave his head a shake, "No. So the guy is a suit, not a storyteller. It doesn't make him any less guilty."

"Look Castle, don't get me wrong, he's still our best suspect. I'm just not as ready to convict him of murder as you seem to be."

He leaned back and calmly asked, curious, "Is that why you kicked me out of the interrogation?"

She drew in oxygen, "Castle, it was clear that I was going to get more out of Greg alone. You're just too close to this case to see that."

Castle swallowed, gazed over her face then put out the suggestion, "You mean I'm too close to her."

Beckett sat back willing to talk this through. "Yes," she replied, "And you know how I know that? If you weren't, you'd be all over the possibility that Kyra could have killed Sophie."

"That's impossible."

Beckett leaned in, and checked for anyone around them who would potentially overhear their conversation. She then murmured, "See, that's not what Richard Castle would say." She paused, "He would paint a picture about the night before the wedding. About how Kyra couldn't fall asleep and so she went down to see Greg, only to find Sophie emerging from his room. And the thought that her fiancé could cheat on her the night before their wedding was too much. And so, she followed Sophie to her room and confronted her. And when things got violent, Sophie ended up dead."

"But I know her, Beckett. Three years we were together."

Beckett sat up and looked at her computer, "You have to stay away from her, Castle."

"Is that Detective Beckett or Kate my girlfriend telling me?" He hissed, sounding a little pissed off.

Her jaw tightened, her mood changed. "You need to stay away until this case is closed, Castle. That is the detective. The girlfriend will also stay away until this case is over." She turned and looked at his eyes. "Rick."

"Fine." Rick stood. His nostrils flared. "I'll leave."

"Fine." Beckett watched him leave for the elevator. She felt oddly calm, even though she knew Rick was pissed at her for making him go. She continued to work for a while their conversation spilling back into her thoughts. A part of her feared he would run to Kyra, to console the woman he once loved.

Their relationship was solid, and she was very happy dating Castle, but neither of them had verbally or directly declared their love for the other. It was implied and indirectly exhibited. She loved him, but she wasn't quite ready to share it.

She made a decision not to see him that evening, that she would go to the gym.

At home that evening, a little jaded about the conversation with Beckett and her text she was serious about not seeing him, Castle kept himself occupied with stuff. He hunted through the bookshelf until he found the notebook he searched for. It was a surprise he hadn't packed it into storage. He flipped through his original hand-written manuscript of A Rose For Everafter only to unexpectedly find a photo of himself and Kyra from the time they dated.

He wasn't aware that Martha entered the office just at the wrong moment as usual. "Richard Castle, what the hell are you doing?"

Castle frowned, allowed his heart to settle from the surprise. He dismissively replied, "Nothing."

"She's getting married to another man."

Castle refrained from gritting his teeth them replied, "It's just a picture, Mom. I was looking for something else." He closed his notebook.

"No, Richard. It's a loaded gun."

Castle rolled his eyes at his mother. His cell phoned began to ring. Saved by the bell. He quickly pulled it out expecting it to be Kate to say she was out of the gym and wanted to see him. Sometimes she went home, some nights she dropped by or had him come over. She might have punched out her frustrations in the gym and be in a better mood. But it wasn't Kate. Unknown number.

Castle accepted the call, and greeted, "Castle."

"Is everybody's wedding like this?" A woman asked without saying who she was.

Castle said, "Kyra?" He glanced to his mother who was anything but happy about the incoming call.

"So, my bridesmaid's dead, uh, my fiancé might be a murderer, and then there's you."

Castle took in a deep breath, suddenly aware he might be entering treacherous waters but he remained calm, "You've just been through a bad shock. That's all."

"Will you come meet me somewhere?"

Castle paused, thought about Kate. Treacherous waters. On a personal level, she'd be jealous. On a professional basis, she'd be pissed because he was seeing a suspect. He was doomed if he agreed to meet his ex. He would feel like an ass if he didn't console someone he used to be extremely close to. But he thought of Kate, how she would react. He then heard himself say, "I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Please? I just need to get out of the hotel for a little while. If I have to listen to my mother judge me anymore, I might start taking hostages."

Castle caved. She was a friend, his ex-lover who needed to talk, and his mother was lingering, "I understand completely. How about the roof?" He suggested and immediately regretted it.

"Our secret roof?"

"Mm."

"That's perfect. Thank you."

"See you soon." Castle hung up then looked to his mother, who shook her head in disapproval.

"Oh, brother. I hope you know what you're doing, kiddo."

Castle frowned, unhappy with his decision, even if he felt obligated to alleviate Kyra of pent up emotions, "Yeah. Me, too." He returned the photo to the notebook and closed it.

"Don't you do anything that will threaten your relationship with, Beckett."

"Mom-"

She held up a hand to cease his objection, "You are doing very well with Katherine. She's so happy. Don't ruin it, Richard."

Rick scratched his head in frustration. She was an awesome girlfriend and she was possessive and protective of what was hers. He had to admit he felt the same about her. "She's potentially jealous as my girlfriend, and I already know she is be pissed off as my partner. I won't win."

"It's not a competition, Richard. As your life coach, I recommend you stay home." Martha lightly said which caused Rick to smile in amusement.

"Thanks Mom."

"Where is Katherine anyway? You two are always together lately."

"I'm not sure. She said she was working back, wanted to go to the gym with Espo." He shrugged, "She has kind of distanced herself of late, with Kyra on the scene, and this case."

"Distanced? Then don't give her reasons to fuel it, Richard."

Rick sat on the floor against his desk and ran a hand through his hair. As much as he hated to admit it, his mother was correct. He decided to settle her and talk to Beckett, "I'll call her, Mom. Can you please excuse me?"

"Good." Satisfied, Martha turned and left the office.

Rick stared at his phone for a few seconds, at the photo he'd taken. The image had him looking into the camera, Kate was kissing his cheek, her dark hair hidden by a cream wool beanie. He hit call and put the phone to his ear.

She picked up three rings in, "Hey."

"Hey." He greeted right back. She sounded happy. "You done with gym?"

"Yes. At home."

"Mm. Have you eaten dinner?"

"Yes." Kate paused, "What's up, Castle?"

He noted she hadn't punched it out. "Well, it's about Kyra-"

"Castle-"

"Hear me out. I know you-" He paused making a sudden decision not to return to their discussion at the Precinct that had sent him home. The tone she had used saying his name said enough. "Kyra called me just now."

"And?"

He heard the cop. Heard the girlfriend. He couldn't figure out why she was acting up about the ex, but it had come on fast. He knew that, and to avoid more problems, he needed to be honest with Beckett. He told her, "She wants me to meet her, Kate. I want you to be there, in case she-"

"Will she know I'm there?"

"No. I want you to have surveillance."

"When are you meeting?"

"I should be leaving now."

"Well, I have surveillance on them, Rick."

"You won't be there?"

Beckett drew in a deeper breath, exhaled, "Nope. I will leave it to the guys who are watching them. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alrightie. Good night." He hung up, "Well that went well." He muttered to himself. For almost a minute he contemplated whether he should listen to his mother and remain at home, but the pull to help Kyra, even at the risk of pissing Beckett off was stronger than him. He stood up and dusted his jeans off. He'd need a coat.


	66. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67**

Castle sat at a bar, a drink in front of him. He thought deeply and sipped gradually. The first drink he'd downed in two gulps. This one he kept company with, while he gave himself time to think out the previous hour or so. How quickly bad it had spiraled.

How he had known the door to the rooftop would still be unlocked, after all these years, was because he sometimes found himself there when he needed space alone. A recluse that was no longer. Not after tonight. Some things never changed but his feelings for Kyra certainly had. It had been a long time since he'd even thought about her. He shouldn't have suggested they meet on the rooftop, the place where they had spent so much time during their first summer together. Kyra had been in her final year of high school. He would meet her on the rooftop after she got out of class, bag of food in one hand and the notebook he found earlier in the other. Together, Kyra would pretend to study and he would try to write.

They'd had a hard time keeping their hands off each other that first summer.

But tonight on the roof, Castle had found Kyra upset. Greg had told her about Sophie coming into his room in the night, that he and Sophie had once been involved before he met Kyra.

She'd been cold when Castle had wrapped her in his arms. Mistake number one. At the time it had reinforced him that he really didn't have feeling for Kyra anymore. That didn't stop him getting himself into a predicament.

If Kyra hadn't confessed that she missed him. If Kyra hadn't have move in closer. If he had maintained control, perhaps the kiss wouldn't have occurred. Problem was, it had. But on this occasion, no one had caught them. He had pulled back, had retracted his arms and parted from Kyra. Done as fast as if he'd put his hand on a hot frypan. He'd apologized. She'd apologized. It plummeted to awkward in a second. Castle had turned and walked away, had vacated the rooftop as quickly as he could. Panicked, he'd escaped the building and hadn't stopped until he was seated on a stool inside the first bar he'd located.

His heart still pounded hard and fast. He was worried, guilt ridden, ashamed. Not a few months back he'd chastised Kate when that detective come ex-boyfriend had kissed her. What an ass he'd been. He took a sip of his whisky. It burned his throat. Again, he wiped his mouth, wishing he could wash his face.

He flipped his phone over and woke the screen. Kate hadn't called or texted, but it was getting late. She might have gone to bed. There was the photo of her kissing his cheek, his smile at the camera showing a content man. A happy guy with his best friend and lover.

His phone lit up with an incoming call. It was home. He took the call and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Daddy? Where are you? Its late and you're not with Beckett."

"No. I'm on my way. You called her?" He was surprised Alexis had contacted Beckett.

"Texted. You weren't answering my texts and I was getting worried."

"Sorry. I'm okay." He tipped the rest of his drink down the hatch then stood up. "Be home in ten minutes, Alexis." He hung up, left cash and walked out the bar.

"I gotta tell you Beckett, that writer boy of yours," Detective Balaz said, tapping the photograph that she glanced at, "He is like, stealth." The woman described her dark curls bouncing around her face.

"Stealth?"

"Yeah, you know," Balaz nodded, "He suddenly appeared on the roof. No one saw him enter and no one saw him leave. He appeared and then disappeared. We were like what the fuck. Where did he come from?"

Beckett's eyebrow rose with curiosity. She wouldn't describe Castle moving with stealth that's for sure. He was generally noisy and clumsy. "Odd. Well it's what he did and perhaps found out that is of my concern."

"Well, here's the photos. The conversation was Kyra seeking support about her fiancé but nothing. He got nothing but this." Detective Balaz handed over a bunch of 8 x 10 inch photos of Castle and Kyra.

Kate flipped through them. It was when she saw a photo of Castle kissing Kyra that she sat up and placed the photos on the desk, "Thank you Detective Balaz. You better get home and have some sleep."

"Thank you, Detective." The woman, shorter than Beckett, a little solid, gathered her stuff and left.

Kate glanced around the bullpen. No one from her team was on shift yet. She passed through the photographs paying particular attention to the exposures capturing the seconds Kyra and Rick had kissed. She counted 16 sequential photos. The final four showed Rick walking away. Kyra remained. He looked angry. The 16 photos were extracted from the collection that would be put on the Police file, and she slipped them into a beige file. She didn't want the team, anyone questioning why he had met Kyra. She knew why had gone to the rooftop but she hadn't expected the kiss, especially after Will had kissed her. She didn't know what to think, how to react to Rick kissing Kyra. Numbness. She only tried to rationalize why he'd done it. What was his excuse? His arms had been around her and he had lowered himself to accommodate Kyra's lack of height.

Kate suddenly became very conscious she needed to be alone to process. Her emotions were taking control.

She got up, pushed out the chair and hurried to the ladies' room. Alone, she stood in the middle of the cool, tiled room and hugged herself, unsure about her little world she had been incredibly fond of lately. The bubble had just suffered a burst.

Castle had kissed Kyra.

Her throat constricted. She blinked away tears that welled up. This hurt.

She wiped beneath her eyes. Slowly she circled taking small steps, unaware her body trembled. Emotions dominated her thoughts. It was overwhelming to see images of Castle being intimate with another woman now she was with him. They had agreed to be exclusive. That had been compromised. She lowered her body to a crouch, hands covered her face. She cried, letting go.

When a woman's voice sounded outside the doorway moments later, Kate silenced, stifled her cries. Her eyes shot to the door. A deep breath was drawn. She stood up and retreated to a cubicle. She dropped the lid and sat on the toilet, dropping her head to her hands.

A handful of toilet paper was snatched from the roll to blow her nose. She dabbed her eyes dry, careful to not smear make up. There was mascara on the paper anyway. She had a shuddery sigh. Deep down, she really cared about Castle, more than she'd anticipated, more than she was willing to admit even to herself. This pain she suffered had come unexpectedly and she accepted to herself she didn't like it that he had kissed another woman. The reaction had occurred suddenly and drastically, rushed at her like a firestorm. Now there was a raised awareness of those feelings, that his actions had the power to threaten the stability of those emotions. Having seen photos of him kissing another woman was agonizing and something she didn't want to see again. She was also spooked by her response, that someone else mattered that much to her.

Out of the cubicle, secure that she had the room to herself, she went to the basins. She shuddered at the sight of her reflection. Large teary eyes stared back at her. She cried a little.

"C'mon Kate. Let him tell his side of the story." It was whispered. "Learn from the past." She wiped her eyes. "Get it together."

With that she straightened up, cleared her throat, and walked out of the bathroom to return to her desk.

Castle arrived at the Precinct a little later than he normally would. He hadn't slept well, but once he had finally fallen asleep about 5.00 am, he'd slept late. His daughter had left for school and his mother was thankfully gone, wherever. He ate breakfast at home, procrastinated about a heap of shit that worried him while he cleaned the kitchen, then folded and put away laundry. No longer with an alternative activity, he decided to bite the bullet and make his way to the Precinct. He needed to see Kate. He also needed to talk to her about last night, and he wanted back on the case. It was his duty to be on the case as her partner.

He delivered Beckett the usual coffee, and placed it on her desk where he always left it. She provided a space for two coffee cups, a place with convenient access for both. He'd noticed that a while back. Thought it was cute of her. Maybe expectant, but cute none the less. A space right beside her row of elephants. His gifts of coffees held status beside the elephants even. It gave him minor comfort that morning as his nerves were heightened, no, shot to hell, about how she Becket was going to react. She looked tired this morning and had barely acknowledged his presence or the coffee.

Beckett knew. She knew already. His heart hurt.

"What did I tell you?"

Castle felt his heart rate spiral upwards, "What?"

"Did I or did I not make myself clear?" Her tone was stern, but not too angry.

Castle swallowed, nodded, said, "Yes." She was going to chew him out in front of her colleagues.

"Do you know how much it annoys me knowing what you're doing? Touching things that shouldn't be touched. Yanking on things that shouldn't be yanked."

Castle's eyes widened in horror. He was also confused. "No, no." He hotly objected. "Nobody yanked on anything."

Beckett looked up as she pushed against her desk. The chair rolled backwards over the floor boards. "Really? Then how do you explain this?"

Beckett kicked her legs back and forth, legs that dangled a few inches from the floor.

"Huh?" Confused he stared, his brain panicked.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Beckett said, "I've told you a million times not to mess with my chair."

"Right. No, I'm sorry. And it- it won't happen again." He sat, his conscience weighing on him in an overwhelming capacity. The chair. Fucking chair was her issue and he hadn't touched it. Someone else had messed with it in their absence. She had messed with him in this instance. But he would accept the blame.

He sat there, watched her adjust the chair back to its normal height. It took a bit of fiddling, which gave him time to weigh up his options. He had enough time to appreciate how attractive she was in a white top, her hair straightened. A decision made he said, "I saw her last night."

She glanced up to his eyes, "I know. You called me." Seemingly finished messing about with the chair, she moved closer to the table and focused on him.

Castle gave a nod, "Something happened."

Beckett pulled open a drawer, got out a file and slipped out surveillance photos of the rooftop rendezvous. She handed them to Rick who scanned each of them.

He glared at her.

She glared at him.

"You had me under surveillance too?" He was surprised, angered, and disappointed.

Beckett stared right back and calmly replied, "Not you. Kyra. I said her family was under surveillance."

His brow furrowed. "Why would you have Kyra under surveillance? To follow here there?" He asked glancing around them to see who was nearby. His nerves felt somewhat prickled by the knowledge Kate had seen where he had been the night before. Potentially they were on the brim of a fight. Telling her would have been preferable.

"She's a murder suspect." Beckett replied matter of fact.

"Oh, no, no, Beckett. See, Sophie's murder was an isolated crime of passion. Watching Kyra after the fact would be a waste of police resources, which we both know you would not do."

Beckett inhaled, unsure whether he was taking a stab in the dark. She replied, "I had to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid, which you did." She nervously fiddled with the edge of the file.

Castle sat back in the chair staring her down. He rubbed his face, "We just kissed, Kate. That's all that happened."

Beckett swallowed, "That's all that happened for now."

Esposito walked up to the desk, "Hey, the financial-" He stopped when he saw Beckett and Castle facing off. "Everything okay?

Beckett replied, "Yes."

Castle replied, "No."

"Okaaaaay." Esposito glanced between his boss and the writer then opted to continue, "Financials came in on our groom. No red flags. He actually lives a pretty modest life for someone with a trust fund."

Beckett looked away from Rick.

Rick saw her avoid him. He felt ill, but as they had already crossed this bridge once in their relationship, he needed to tread carefully, particularly because this time it was his fault.

She asked Esposito, "Anything back from the lab?"

Esposito said, "Nothing useful. Greg's hair and fiber samples came back negative. Other than the earring, there's no physical evidence tying him to the murder."

Ryan who also was within hearing range said, "So, I retraced Sophie's steps leading up to the wedding. She checked into the Beaumont on Friday, but she flew into the city on Thursday morning."

Beckett was suddenly inquisitive, "What was she doing all day Thursday?"

"Don't know."

"Well, go find out, Espo." Kate encouraged and waved him off. After Esposito was out of hearing zone, she leaned back in her chair, hands up to her chin. Attention returned to Rick who quietly waited obviously worried, "Castle?"

"Beckett?" He cast his eyes over the photographs then discarded them on the desk, "I'm sorry. Will you please destroy them."

"Of course," she whispered. "Everyone thinks we're single."

"We're not." He hissed back. "I went to console her."

She looked at him with a deep breath, collected the photographs and put them away in the file. "Yes, that that's why I'm not going through the fall out again."

"Again?"

Beckett glanced about to ensure no one heard them. "What happened after Will kissed me." Her expression and tone was calm.

"Kate?" Rick studied her face, watched the file get put away. He was clearly confused by Kate's reaction. "I think we need to talk about this later."

"Nothing to talk about, Rick." She stood up with two coffee mugs in her hand, "I'll go make coffees."

"I brought-" Rick jumped up and hurried after her, glancing back to the take away coffee he'd just given her. "No, no Beckett. Let me do that. Let me make our coffee." He guessed it was a way for them to get a few minutes of privacy.

With the machine under his control, Castle said, "I'm very sorry, Kate."

She stared at him. "It hurt, Rick."

"I'm sorry."

"I mean last time. The fall out hurt me." She cleared her throat, "Castle, can we not go there again?"

He paused his task, looked over her face, her expression, then nodded, "Okay. But I'm still sorry."

"Okay." She said. "Accepted."

Beckett, fidgeted and breathed deeper, happier now the awkward moment in the past, and hopefully forgotten. More relaxed, she leaned against the counter, "The boys have interviewed the wedding guests, Castle."

"And?"

"It seems everyone has something to add about Sophie. Especially one person who happens to be one of your favorite individuals-"

He smirked, "Oh, that would have to be the delightful, Sheila Blaine?"

"Mm." She smiled, "That's the one. Apparently, Sophie called Sheila after the engagement party to ask her to pay for her flight to New York for the wedding."

Rick chuckled, "There is no bloody way Sheila would have given Sophie money." He shook his head in disbelief then added, "Sheila didn't provide much for Kyra when she was a college student."

"Make your own way kind of mother, huh?"

"Oh yeah. I didn't mind, but Kyra depended on either me or her father for extra money."

"Well what pissed off Sheila the most was she saw Sophie shopping on Friday."

"Okay." He gave a dismissive shrug, "Sophie was shopping. Women window shop."

"Hotel shopping." Kate replied.

His face lit up, "Huh! And we all know hotel shopping is expensive and Sophie had no money."

"Shopping at the hotel store. Sheila was livid because Sophie was telling everybody how broke she was, and somehow, she suddenly had money to burn."

"Well then we need to find out where the money came from, in the event she did spend. I didn't see shopping bags in her room." He turned to her, "Here you go. Enjoy."

She smiled, accepted the mug of hot coffee Rick handed her, and inhaled its scent. He used good coffee beans that smelt delicious. Encouraged by his anticipation, she took a sip, the frothy milk coating her top lip. A nod came. "This is good, Castle."

"Yeah? Creamy enough?"

She took a second sip, then nodded, "Coffee is good too."

He waved his hand near her lip. She licked the froth away, then smiled devilishly. He felt aroused, very aroused. "Don't. Please don't." He pleaded but she looked to his groin anyway.

"Turn you on?" The tone was suggestive, the green eyes expressed to Castle she wanted him, real bad.

"Most certainly does. Works on you too." He answered casting his eyes to her hips. "Most certainly gonna happen tonight."

"In your dreams, Castle." She replied as she walked back to her desk.

He collected his mug and followed, muttering, "Not a dream baby. Gonna happen."

An hour later, the team had confirmed the rumours that Sophie had been financially broke when she had boarded the plane to NYC. Financial records indicated she didn't have money to spend on wedding gifts. Forgetting the gift, between the shoes, the dress, the hotel and the flight, Sophie must have dropped three grand on the weekend, easy. Three grand she didn't have. The question was how had she come across the money?

Further investigation had them establish that Sophie had paid for her flight in cash. When they dug deeper they learned her last three rental payments had been made in cash. Traceless funds.

The case was blown wide open when they obtained video surveillance from a little bridal shop near the hotel. The video showed that Sophie and Greg's Uncle Teddy were together in the store.

Ryan reported that according to the bridal shop owner, when Teddy had paid cash for the dress, Sophie had told him she wasn't sure if she could go through with it.

They only needed to discover why was it so important for Sophie to go to Greg's wedding. So, they sent out a couple of Uniforms to go out and find Greg's Uncle, Ted Murphy. The Unies gave Murphy a ride back to the Precinct to have that chat with the homicide team.

It was to their benefit that Greg Murphy, who turned up at the Precinct to support his uncle, was considerably agitated by the detectives for several reasons. The first was Castle the ex-boyfriend, the second was team had Ted Murphy in interrogation and lastly, Greg was also a suspect. Beckett was determined not to remove Castle from the case because she knew his presence irritated the crap out of the groom. She was also kind of enjoying the testosterone power game going on between the two alpha males.

In amongst the bickering in interrogation, the detectives learned that Greg wasn't aware his Uncle had bought Sophie's bridesmaid dress. He also didn't know that Ted Murphy had given Sophie fifteen hundred in the last three months.

When Greg mentioned that Ted had helped to write the pre-nup agreement between himself and Kyra, the penny dropped. Greg figured it out. Castle and Beckett followed seconds later.

The detectives detained Ted Murphy for the time it took them to obtain a warrant to search his office. What they found in Murphy's office provided them with enough evidence to close the case. Beckett and Castle didn't muck around when they re-joined Ted Murphy in the interrogation box.

He was impatient, having waited almost two hours for the questioning to begin. Beckett didn't give a hoot how he felt. They'd been run off their feet during that time, had barely had time for a bathroom break. Castle patiently waited for her to get going with the interview aware she needed to get her thoughts into order, and he remained silent until she closed her notebook and looked at Ted Murphy.

Beckett spoke slowly and calmly when she finally made the sound accusations, "Mr Murphy, Greg's grandparents established a trust fund that he was going to receive on his wedding day and named you the executor." She paused, really looked at the elder man opposite her, and she leaned closer. "How am I doing so far?"

She glanced down at her note book then continued, "And for the past five years you've been stealing from that fund to fuel your expensive lifestyle. A house in the Hamptons, a Ferrari. A pair of top-of-the-line breast implants. I'm assuming those aren't for you, though."

"My personal life is none of your business," Murphy replied.

"It is when it leads to a murder. You lost a ton of money in the market."

"Everybody did."

"But not everybody had access to Greg's trust fund." Beckett replied, "When you ran out of your own money, you started using his. Burned through almost the entire two million, and then when he called you to tell you he was getting engaged, you panicked because you didn't have enough equity to put it back."

Castle immediately picked up where Beckett stopped. "You realized the only way to avoid detection was to put a stop to the wedding. But how?" Rick raised his hands in question, "Greg was clearly in love with Kyra," he paused then firmly said, "Kyra was in love with him."

"And then you," Beckett continued, "Met Sophie at the engagement party and you realized that she was the perfect instrument to sabotage Greg's wedding because she was so desperate for money."

"That's ridiculous." Murphy objected.

"The fact that she still carried a torch for Greg made it that much easier to convince her to sneak into Greg's room in the middle of the night," Castle said.

Beckett reached to the floor and picked up a camera she put on the desk. "With this. Sophie's video camera. We found this in your luggage in the hotel. It still has Sophie's fingerprints all over it."

Castle said, "Only she didn't quite get the footage you were hoping for, did she? When Greg refused Sophie's advances she had a change of heart. She ran back to her room where you were there waiting for her."

"What happened, Mr. Murphy?" Beckett inquired, "Did she threaten to expose you? To tell everybody what you asked her to do?"

"You couldn't let that happen." Castle commented, "And then you realized there was another way to sabotage Greg's wedding. Kill a bridesmaid."

"Wow. What a story. And very well told, I might add." Ted Murphy said looking between the pair, "But that's all it is. A story." He dismissively shrugged his shoulders.

"Really?" Beckett asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you remember how I told you that we went through your luggage?" She produced a small zip lock plastic bag she placed on the table, "We found this tie tack. Platinum, right? Did you know that we found trace evidence of platinum in the wounds in Sophie's back?"

Castle added "You probably didn't even realize you were making them when you were choking her from behind."

Beckett said, "Which is why it never occurred to you to get rid of the one piece of physical evidence that tied you to the crime."

Castle smugly finished the conversation by saying, "We're sorry we kept you waiting." He smiled.

Beckett turned to Rick, "I guess we'll get a uniform in to read him his rights and process him."

"Good idea." Castle stood with Beckett.

She said, "Mr Murphy, you are being placed under arrest. Please wait here and someone will be right with you."

Rick and Kate exited Montgomery's office after their half hour debrief of the case. They were almost done. Captain was happy. Beckett just needed to complete the paper work.

Nearby her desk, Rick paused and turned about to look at Beckett, "Follow me," he ordered but didn't touch her. He then continued to walk ahead and expected that Beckett would agree to stay with him. He was happy to hear her footsteps continued behind him to the stairs he went down. It was at the bottom of the first flight she spoke.

"Where are we going?"

"Outside." He answered without pausing. She followed. At the ground floor, he walked across the foyer and outside. On the sidewalk, she fell in beside him, kept up with his pace. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he wanted a place the cops didn't go, a place they had privacy. It has half a block down he sighted a little coffee shop they never went to, he stopped.

"Here. Go inside, Baby," he said, opened the door and beckoned her inside.

He ordered coffee and a toasted cheese sandwiches, conscious they hadn't had time to eat all day. Beckett chose a table towards the back of the café, well away from the entrance. While they waited for the delivery of their order, they sat in silence and checked emails and messages on their respective phones. Beckett tapped a few replies but stopped when the toasties were left in the middle of the table on a large plate. The smell of the melted cheese was all it took to have pair reach in for a cut. They ate, finding they were hungrier than they'd anticipated.

"With the exception of your toasted sandwiches, Castle, this is delicious." Beckett commented once she was a good way through the meal.

"Thank you, and we are damn hungry. Anything would taste nice right now." Castle said as he grabbed another quarter, "And it's good to see you eating. You've hardly ate all day. You were looking pale in the Captain's office."

She shrugged and with a mouth full of food she replied, "Busy."

Rick pointed at the last quarter and she waved that she didn't want it.

"Like a Labrador, Castle."

He grinned. There was no point in objecting to her comment.

It was only after the coffees were in front on them on the small table that he finally began to speak, the reason why he'd taken her from the Precinct. He looked right at her, wiped his mouth with the napkin provided.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, Kate," he said.

"Castle-" She held up a hand to cease him.

"No. Hear me out." He nervously swallowed, reached for both her hands and held them firmly in his, resting on the table. "I don't want this to sound selfish, but I hardly slept. I was so worried I hurt you … I don't want to be the boyfriend that makes you cry, upsets you with my actions, but today I did that."

"I didn't cry," she barely murmured and her eyes shot to their hands. Stronger, she repeated, "I didn't cry."

"I know you did." He stroked her hands, whispered, "I know you."

For several seconds she processed his words, then she said. "The surveillance team said they didn't see you go in the building or leave it."

"Huh?" Confused, he scanned her face, watched her eyes on their hands. She had a light grasp on his fingers, something he found comfort in. She hadn't pulled away.

"They didn't spot you. They only saw you on the roof. How did you get past them?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders, "I guess my spidey powers." He sighed, not comfortable playing the joker right now. "Look, I have no idea, Kate. But you said you had surveillance on her. Not me. She was there before me, and I kind of, well I got the fuck out of there." He gave her a tilted uneasy smile. "Hit a bar for a drink. No photos of me there?"

She shook her head, "Still-"

"Stop avoiding my apology. Will you please-?"

Kate looked at his eyes, at which time he saw the flash of anger. Then she looked away, out the window, blinking. She swallowed. "Did you do it because of last night?"

"What?" He was confused, then recalled their minor argument when she'd sent him home. "No." He gripped her hands when she went to pull away. He repeated in a hushed tone, "No."

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

"No." It was immediate and he leaned in, "I know who I have feelings for. It just happened, Kate. I have no excuse."

Kate gave a nod of acceptance. "It's the risk of having a secret affair. But I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay. But before we put it in the past is there anything you want to say?"

"I have a gun." She said then laughed. "I could shoot you."

Rick grinned, "Good girl. You're threatening me." He glanced around the café, ensured they were safe then he half stood, reaching over the table, "C'mere," he requested, "And damn well kiss me."

She smiled, gave a cry and put her hands to his jaw as she gave him a kiss. He paused, smiled then gave her another. He sat back.

"Drink your coffee. I'm very sorry."

"Accepted, Castle." This time she reached for his hand and with her right hand she touched his lips, "They're mine to kiss," she said then lowered her hand and smiled at his eyes.

Rick felt his heart swell, and there was pain in his throat. "I want to give you the biggest hug."

"Later." She gave him a flirty look. "Will be a lot more than a hug."

"A lot more." He agreed.

At the Precinct late in the afternoon, Castle sat with Kyra in the meeting room just alongside Beckett's office. He played back Sophie's blackmail tape she made in Greg's hotel. He had told Beckett he wanted Kyra to hear that Greg hadn't been responsible for what Sophie had done. Kyra listened to the tape

"…I'm getting married tomorrow, okay?" Greg said on the recording, "To the woman that I love."

Castle turned off the machined as he said, "Teddy's plan would've worked, too, if it weren't for the one thing he didn't count on." He left the machine on the table.

"What's that?" Kyra asked.

"Greg." He put the machine on the desk, gazed over Kyra's face. She was happier than when he'd last seen her. The murder resolved, she could move one. He put his elbows on the desk then said, "He's a good man, Kyra. He's an honorable man. And he loves you."

She smiled and softly said, "I know, Rick. And I love him, too. But that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna think about you from time to time."

Castle smiled, "Oh, you better."

"Of all the murders, in all the cities, at all the weddings, and you walk into mine." She had stood and made her way around to the side of Rick who remained seated.

"I'm glad I did." Rick replied.

Kyra bent over a little and kissed him on the cheek. Castle smiled, noticed that Beckett watched from her desk.

"Thank you, Rick." Kyra said.

"You're welcome. Be safe."

As Kyra exited, Beckett whipped her attention back to her desk and pretended to look over paperwork. Kyra approached her desk and stopped. Beckett shyly looked up.

"He's all yours," Kyra said.

For several moments, Kate seemed to process the words Kyra had said, then glanced at Rick who was amusing himself. She looked back at Kyra.

"You gave him up." It was said calmly, just observation. "Why?"

"We grew up together." Kyra lightly tapped the desk, "But, he belongs to you, Kate. If you left the country, he would come after you. So, he was never really mine." With that, she left Kate and headed towards the elevator, catching a ride to the ground floor.

Kate stared after Kyra, her thoughts centered around her relationship with Castle and what it did mean to her. Amongst many things, he'd given her a fresh outlook on life, a person to care for.

"Hey." He quietly interrupted as he lowered his frame into his chair. "Ready to go?"

She scanned his face, "Yes." She leaned over the desk her elbow resting on it, her chin resting on her palm, "Castle?"

He too leaned in, mirroring her position which caused her to smile.

"Mmm? I'm listening"

She suddenly felt shy, her cheeks warmed.

"Tell me." He softly urged.

"You apparently belong to me." She laughed. A nervous laugh.

"Of course, I do," he confirmed. "Like you belong to me." He sat up, "Let's go eat. I really want a cheeseburger and you look like you could do with at least one." He stood up and reached for her coat he held out for her. "So, six times a bridesmaid, huh? You wouldn't happen to have any pictures, would you?"

"Thank you. Trust you to remember that." She shrugged herself into the coat then turned about to collect her bag.

"Pictures?" He repeated.

"I might have a few." She shot him a seductive look, then walked ahead towards the elevators. He flicked off the lights to the bullpen for the night.

"Were the dresses hideous?" He asked as they waited for the elevator.

She laughed, "Yeah, two were."

"Mm." Rick responded and held open the door to the elevator for Kate to enter before him. Once they were alone riding the elevator Castle stepped closer to her, "Whose place we going?"

"I have a couple of days off," she hinted.

"My place tonight. See Alexis, sleep with you."

"Sleep in." She cooed.

"Most definitely. Then yours tomorrow."

"Burgers first." Kate reminded. "I'm famished, even with the afternoon snack we had." She walked out the elevator. "Hurry Castle. You owe me burgers."


	67. Chapter 67 b

**Chapter 67 – Mistress Always Spanks Twice**

"When you girls get together you're mean," Rick murmured, and followed it with a kiss to Kate's bare shoulder. He pulled up the bedsheets and wriggled in closer to Beckett's body.

She scoffed, laughed, "We are not. You can't cope with being beaten by three smart women." She tightened her body in response to his hand that lovingly caressed over her lower back over her hip. His lips were busy, pressing to her neck.

"I love having three smart women. But no one has ever been able to beat me at Scrabble."

"I did." She shivered after he softly blew breath to the back of her neck. "Castle," she purred.

He moaned. The way she said his name. He lightly nibbled her flesh. "I will beat you next time." It was growled playfully, and filled with laughter she answered.

"Not a chance."

"I will."

"Martha was over the moon that I won." She reminded him.

"Of course she was."

"And Alexis."

"Yes, her too." He nibbled her shoulder her neck. "I don't want to go tomorrow." He whispered.

"Its only four days, but I don't want you to go either."

"I will be back before we know it." He whispered. He wanted her tonight. Was willing to lure her in slowly. His fingers slipped between her thighs, caressed over her, the warmth of her body appealing. In response, her pelvis tilted towards his. He stroked over her tummy to her belly button then ventured downwards again. This time he gently pushed between her lips. There it was. He expressed his pleasure with a soft groan, a firmer nibble of her flesh. That had her roll to her back her hand going to his face.

"Kiss me," she whispered. "Now."

He smiled, brought himself closer and kissed her. She was timid. When she pulled away her fingers stroked his jaw and she looked into his eyes.

"Just us," she murmured.

"Mm. Tomorrow I'm gone for a few days." He pushed down the bed sheets and picked himself up, moving over Kate who shifted to accommodate his large frame over her. Her hands went to his bare skin over his ribs. "Shit, your hands are cold," he squeaked.

She laughed and reached her arms around him, pulling him down upon her. "Why didn't you ask me to come along?"

"Because you have to work?" He said, "And you don't wanna be sittin' around bookstores watching women fall over me with copies of my books."

Kate grunted a response, hooked her calves around his hips and dragged him in closer again. She gave a joyous squeal and laughed when he dropped his body onto hers. "Oh, you're happy to see me," she declared.

"I am in deed."

"Better show me how happy you are."

"Then hold on."

The next morning, Rick was packed ready to leave when Beckett usually left for work. In the bedroom, while Kate was dressing, he opened the safe stored in the walk-in-robe to fetch her Glock. He took it from the casing that he returned to the safe.

Able to see him from where she dressed, Kate paused to admire the man, to adore the way his muscles showed through his dress shirt. He homed the gun to her holster. Momentarily she recollected how confidently he'd used the guns at the shooting range yesterday.

"You know, Castle, for someone who isn't trained you handled the guns at the range very well yesterday." Then she whispered, "Wow."

He paused, looked at her, all of her, in the leopard print underwear, and smiled, "Wow, Beckett."

"Eyes off, Buddy. You feasted enough last night. You certainly had -"

"Enough to last me a couple of days," he cut in as he approached her. His hands rested at her bare hips and he gave her a quick kiss. "Better hurry if you want to share the cab with me."

She coyly smiled, glanced at the gun on the bed, conscious he'd just dismissed her because he knew she was going to say something about his skills with the gun. "I'll be ready," she said. "You got my Glock ready.

"Yeah. Finally figured it out, watching you." He let her go.

Kate got dressed in black skinny jeans and a sweater. After she pulled on her boots she collected the holster and thread her arm through the strap until the leather was home. She then slipped it the back of her jeans. Ready, she drank what remained of her coffee then followed Rick out of the bedroom.

"Four days." She said as she tidied his shirt collar. "That will be the longest we've been apart since we got together."

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her in very close. "It will go fast enough. You start training with the boys tomorrow so that will keep you busy."

"Yeah." She touched his cheek, already missing him, "About that. Are you going to be my partner?"

He screwed up his face with distaste then gave her a smile and pressed his lips to her hairline, "How about I start when I come back. Huh?"

She pulled back a little and gently tugged on the collar of his dress shirt, "Mm. I get the feeling-"

"I'll be with you."

"I will miss you," she whispered.

"Not half as much as I will miss you."

On the first evening that Castle was away, Kate had a booking with her personal trainer. With a gruelling hour exercise regime out of the way, Beckett and the trainer decided to go to a local eatery together for supper and a catch up. They hadn't really had time to meet since she had secretly been dating Castle. The personal trainer was a strapping tall guy in his mid-thirties, was always great company and best of all, like she did with Castle, she kept this friend to herself. Esposito and Ryan had met him at the gym as her PT but that was the extent of their knowledge about him. Castle had met him once or twice and strangely enough, wasn't worried when she caught up with him, socially or for training.

The problem was the trainer wanted to know why she no longer approached him or consented to have sex with him.

"You used to give me midnight calls, drop by," he said with light heartedly. She laughed and blushed.

"Those were fun times, Tommy," she replied, "Knocking off work, all pent up from perks acting out, coming to see you." She lifted her eyes to his brown eyes.

"You sometimes arrived pretty wound up."

"Mm." She fiddled with a hair band around her left wrist, "Those days are gone."

"It's the writer you're with?"

Beckett gave a nod, "It is. We're secretly dating." She took a sip of her drink and inspected her meal. It was a healthy warm chicken salad. It was nice but a part of her was craving a decent cheese burger and shake or Castle's chicken carbonara.

Tommy leaned in, which cause her to look at him as he said, "You really like him and he's a nice guy. You only wander off when you're dating. It usually only runs a few months but this time it's been longer."

She shrugged her shoulders, smiled, "He's very handsome. I denied I liked him at first, but it was instant. Moment I met him."

"And no one knows you're together."

"Only our families. Will try to keep it like that for a while." She stabbed a piece of tomato then paused, "Hey, that marathon that I've nominated myself to do with my team at work."

"Mm?"

"How much training? I mean, I'm not sure I can do it."

"You could do it. Just need to run." He paused.

Kate saw his expression change and she smiled, guilty.

"You want me to run with you." He suggested.

She screwed up her nose, "Well, Castle won't. He says he will but he's really not the running type. I know that."

"Full marathon."

"Full marathon," she confirmed. "I have to be at the gym again at six tomorrow morning to train with the boys." She pushed away the plate, leaving a third of the meal there. She was full and wanted to head home for a shower and to wind down.

"I'll run with you. Not tomorrow, but next day I'm good."

"Cool."

The morning training sessions were hard to commit to during the winter months but she was there the following day predawn. She preferred to snuggle into the warmth and security of Castle, to sleep a further ten minutes, but because he wasn't there she got out of bed to train. Esposito and Ryan wanted to commence training for a marathon and she'd committed to do it with them on the spur of the moment. Castle had kind of committed, but getting up before work to train wasn't in his DNA, especially when he spent hours writing while she slept. It would be interesting to see whether he did join them. So here she was, between Ryan and Esposito, pounding the running machine at the gym. She had barely broken into a sweat, almost five minutes into the run component. Ten minutes of warm up jogging and now they were running just over 3 miles inside 12 minutes. Both men were sweating. Profusely. Esposito's singlet was wet but he breathed evenly. Ryan, a seasoned runner was cruising. Running had always been an easy task for her but she wasn't that into it and preferred agility exercises.

She counted down the minutes until they passed their milestone and slowed the machines to a jog. It was then she pulled herself out of the sweater, the time when her body would really start to perspire.

Off the machines, they ended up on the floor mats to stretch before they began the second component of their exercise regime. With her right leg bent, her left out straight, she reached to her left shoe and stretched, staring ahead.

"Lanie said she dropped by your place on the weekend." Esposito said. He was doing the same stretch.

Kate pressed her lips together. She needed to think about this. She hadn't expected Lanie to tell Esposito about that Saturday, when she'd turned up at Kate's apartment unannounced. But apparently, she had. It had taken him awhile to say something too. Luckily this time, Beckett and Castle had been working on a chapter of his manuscript and Lanie had seen the notebook containing his handwritten notes and the laptop open. A mental note was immediately made to be careful what she said to Lanie in the future.

"He came by because he was stuck on Police policy," she replied, trying her hardest to act casual. "But I don't need to explain that because its personal, Espo." She was nice but firm, aware it was enough to shut his questions down. They all knew she was extremely private.

"She said you and Castle were arr…. Cozy."

"We get told we are that at work," she shrugged off, now determined to give his ass a good whipping when they started combat training. She stood up from the floor mat, shook out the tension in her muscles.

Castle hadn't called or texted since he had landed in LA. That kind of bothered her and she had no control over that reaction to his radio silence. He had said he would contact her when he could. It was odd not having his company and she was willing to admit to herself she missed the guy, especially at night when she was trying to sleep and he wasn't there. She wasn't the type to attach herself too easily but found his absence left a gaping hole in her life. How quickly she had grown accustomed to his presence, his more than large presence. She cleared her throat feeling a gush of tightness, of emotion. Did she really miss him that much? She pushed down the emotions, a little spooked by what she felt, that another person had that effect on her. It was unjust and silly to be choked up fretting for another. What disturbed her more was whether he would be seduced by one or more beautiful female fans.

She pushed that out of her conscious thoughts.

Determined to be perfectly happy, and with gloves retrieved from the bench she was ready to do some training on the kick bag.

"Tommy, my personal trainer, says he'll do the marathon with us, Kev." She said as she bounced from right to left feet to keep warm and pumped.

Surprised by her news he asked, "How hard did you have to deliver a speech to get him on board?"

"Actually, not that much. He's gonna run with me tomorrow night. You guys can join us if you reckon you can keep up."

"You'll be eating my dust, Beckett." Ryan quickly replied. "You run like a girl."

"This girl will kick your ass for that." She shot right back as they made their way to the punching bag. S

On the fourth and final night that Castle was away, Kate expected a phone call, so she kept her secret phone close. Tonight, she missed Castle. A lot. More so than during work hours. However, there was no way she would admit to him that his absence left a huge hole in her life. Besides a few text messages earlier that day, they hadn't spoken since she had stepped out of the sedan that had driven Castle to the airport. He was on the way home and had indicated via text that he needed to spend time with Alexis. That meant unless she snuck into his home later tonight, she wouldn't see him until tomorrow. She dealt with that by staying in and enjoying her own company.

The call came in late, after Beckett had retired to bed and fallen asleep. She didn't hear the phone vibrate.

The air was fresh when Castle and Beckett met on the pathway at the edge of the park. They stopped, face to face with about two feet between them.

"Hi." Beckett said.

"Hi." Castle glanced over her face, about them then back to her eyes. "You look gorgeous."

She smiled, her cheeks glowed. "You too. I really want to kiss you."

"You have no idea. Want to do more than that, a lot more."

"Well," she looked into the distance to where a crowd was, then back to him, "We have a murder scene to go to."

"That's a damn shame." Rick glanced at his watch, then was back on her face not interested in the crime scene, "Seven and a quarter hours left until you knock off."

"Time is ticking." She replied and lowered her eyes to his groin. "And there is something I want to really do tonight."

Rick's eyes shot to his belt buckle, then he smiled, "You naughty girl." He pointed at the crime scene, "Detective Beckett, you have a murder to solve before we think about the naughty stuff."

Shoulder to shoulder, they commenced to walk across the park towards the crowd of detectives and forensic scientists,

"Castle, did you miss me?"

"I sure did, always do when you're not with me." He glanced at her and gave her a smile.

"Mm. Well, I must admit I found it hard to fall asleep with you not holding me."

"Oh."

"And the bed was colder without you."

"Duly noted."

"My coffee is terrible."

"Go steady, Beckett."

She smiled. "How was your evening with Alexis?"

"The evening was fine, we had fun, thank you, but she woke up all weird this morning."

"How so?"

"Alexis was singing and jumping up and down."

"Dancing?"

"Arrr, not quite. It was this thing they call cheerleading. My daughter, Beckett. Cheer leading."

Kate looked concerned, "What's wrong with cheerleading, Castle?"

"Oh please." He shot her a sideways glance, "Don't tell me you were a cheerleader."

"You couldn't cope with knowing if I was." Kate smirked, enjoying his dilemma more than she should do. "So, what's wrong with cheerleading?" She prodded.

"No, no, nothing … nothing's wrong with it." He quickly replied, "I'm just- I didn't know you... were once one."

"I wasn't," she curtly replied, "So get that image out of your head, buddy."

"Flushed. Gone," he quickly confirmed.

"Alexis is just putting her toe in the water, Castle. Diversify her activities."

"That's what she said. Are you two communicating-"

"No." She shook her head, "Definitely not."

"I will wait and see where it goes. She's a pretty busy girl so I don't know when she's going to fit in the cheerleading without sacrificing something else."

"She'll figure it out, Castle."

"Four days away …"

"Castle, I haven't spoken to your daughter," she stressed, "And I haven't been to the loft since the morning you left."

"I know. I'm messing with you. And I mean its been four days since I touched you and you don't know how much I want to do that right now."

"I think I do."

He kind of took a couple of sideways steps to look at her then focussed on where they were headed, "Its busy over there, do you know what happened?"

"Woman found hanging from monkey bars. That's the text I received from Kevin."

"Okay. Well, yes, she's certainly hanging." He observed then fell quiet as they approached the crime scene. Side by side, they stopped for a few seconds to absorb the sight before them. The deceased was a young woman with long brunette hair and she was hanging by her wrists from the monkey bar, her eyes opened. She was attired in sexual clothing. Two medics lifted her down with great care and attention.

Ryan cleared his throat distracting his boss and the writer, "Vic's a female, late twenties, no ID. She was found hanging from the monkey bars by a jogger just after dawn."

Castle politely studied the body, pointed at the yellowish goo stuck to her skin, "Is that honey?"

Lanie who was crouched down beside the body replied, "From the smell of it, I'd say it's caramel sauce." She glanced up to Beckett and Castle, "But I'll be testing, not tasting."

"Caramel sauce?" Beckett repeated.

"Maybe our killer has a sweet tooth." Castle kind of smiled at his own humour.

"Given her state of undress," Beckett replied, "I'd say it's more likely he had a sexual fetish."

Lanie looked to Beckett, "Yeah, I can do the chocolate, I'll even do the whipped cream bikini, but caramel? I prefer slippery to sticky."

Castle cleared his throat and his expression softened as fond memories flooded his mind, and he asked anyone who was listening, "Does she know we can hear her?"

Beckett ignored Castle and pointed at the hand cuffs, "Bondage cuffs, custom made? Looks like our killer liked public play."

Inquisitive, Castle asked, "How can you tell the difference between custom and regular?"

"The leather is too higher quality to be mass-produced, and its hand-stitched." Beckett pointed at the fine stitching.

"No," Rick replied, "I mean, how can _you_ tell the difference?" He pointed at her.

Beckett smiled mysteriously, and remained silent. Rick got a little fidgety.

Returning her focus to the body she asked the doctor, "So time of death?"

Lanie replied, "From body temperature, I'd say between 10:00 and 11:00 last night, but I'm pretty sure she was not killed here. Based on lividity, she spent several hours in the fetal position after she died. And then was hung here a few hours ago. Petechial hemorrhaging suggests she was suffocated. And then there's these."

"Was she restrained?" Castle asked.

Lanie said, "Looks like it.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito interrupted, "Crime scene's negative for any signs of a struggle. Found about a dozen partial shoe impressions, but the ground's too cold to get any imprints."

Ryan said, "But... we did find this." He held up his phone to show Beckett pictures. Castle and Beckett leaned into to look at the photos, "Wheel marks, about 18 inches apart. And judging by the depth of the tracks, I'd say it was carrying something heavy."

Castle replied, "I'm guessing around, uh, 105 pounds." He looked down at the dead woman.

"So, he killed her elsewhere and then brought her here." Beckett suggested.

"Yeah, which means the crime scene could be anywhere." Esposito replied.

"The psychology doesn't make any sense." Castle suggested, "Like the crime scene was pretty elaborately staged, which seems to suggest a significant amount of premeditation, but the murder itself, suffocation, might indicate a crime of passion."

"Then the guy covered her in caramel. Do you really think we're gonna find a logical explanation?" Ryan asked.

"Only a handful of bondage shops in the city do custom work," Beckett said, "So let's take photos of those cuffs, send it out, see if anyone can ID where it came from." She ordered as she commenced the walk back to the car.

Castle who appeared very surprised that Beckett knew all this, asked, "Only a handful of shops?" He called after her, "Okay, Beckett, what aren't you telling me?"

Beckett turned and suggestively smiled, "So much, Castle. So very, very much."

Her answer left Castle feeling a little crazy, but more so dizzy with desire. He was already sexually frustrated having not been with Kate for several long days and now she was being seductive. He bit his knuckles.

"You coming, Castle?" She called and it was followed up with a giggle when she turned about and continued to walk.

Seconds later he was at her side. They walked in silence until the second Castle knew they were out of hearing range. "Bondage?"

"I knew that word would stick in your head."

"Bondage? What aren't you sharing with me?"

"You ever been tied up? Been at the mercy of another person?" She asked.

"Bondage?" He squeaked.

"Yes or no is all it needs, Castle."

"No Ma'am, I haven't. Not bondage." He shook his head.

"Maybe it's time." She suggested, like she was thinking aloud.

"Time? For what?" He cautiously inquired, then swallowed.

"To get out my fluffy cuffs."

He grinned, "Sure, I'll bring mine over tonight." Castle stated. "Along with a few other things."

"We'll just put our toes in the water." Beckett replied and gave him a look.

"Bondage next week." He confirmed. "I don't want a heart attack. It's been like five days since I touched you, all of you."

"Don't I know it." Beckett stressed.

They took a few strides of silence before Rick asked, "Who will hand cuff who?"

"I'm a cop, Castle. If you can get the cuffs on me, good luck."

"Oh, you want a tackle too?"

She giggled and looked at his eyes, "I'll give you a tackle."

"You want to be arrested, be a bad guy for once."

She patted his upper arm, "I will be the bad guy, you're the cop and you have to arrest me." She continued to walk around the car as Rick fell against the passenger side his hands to his chest. She watched him carry on, releasing a laugh of amusement.

When they got in the car she gave him a seductive stare, "So me being tied up and at your mercy is appealing to you, Ricky?"

His palm laid upon her thigh and he gave her a squeeze. "You're killing me, Beckett. I was writing an R rated story about us for you when I was gone. You have just given me a whole new story."

"I wanna read these stories, Castle."

"You will."

She started the car.

"Right now, I need a cold shower or a hotel room," he shared.

"Neither, Bud. We're on our way back to the Precinct." With the engine running and still in park, she reached over to his groin she gently felt, "Wow, Castle," she said in hushed tones and looked him in the eyes, "Better tame the lion before we get back there."

"Stop teasing me." He gently lifted her hand away, smiled, "I bet." He glanced to her groin, "There is plenty going on down there right now."

"Maybe," she replied. She indicated she wanted to pull out into the traffic and seeing the road behind her was clear, she drove out onto the road.

He laughed, "Maybe, my ass. I know you, Sweetheart." He generously gave her thigh a rub. "I'm gonna have you begging for me by tonight."

"Nope." She vigorously shook her head. "You will be on your knees."

"We'll see." Rick replied, glanced at the time, "I have about three minutes to get under control."

Kate laughed. "I will go to a drive through for coffee."

"Good idea."


	68. Chapter 68

_Previously:_

 _She started the car._

" _Right now, I need a cold shower or a hotel room," he shared._

" _Neither, Bud. We're on our way back to the Precinct." With the engine running and still in park, she reached over to his groin she gently felt, "Wow, Castle," she said in hushed tones and looked him in the eyes, "Better tame the lion before we get back there."_

" _Stop teasing me." He gently lifted her hand away, smiled, "I bet." He glanced to her groin, "There is plenty going on down there right now."_

" _Maybe," she replied. She indicated she wanted to pull out into the traffic and seeing the road behind her was clear, she drove out onto the road._

 _He laughed, "Maybe, my ass. I know you, Sweetheart." He generously gave her thigh a rub. "I'm gonna have you begging for me by tonight."_

" _Nope." She vigorously shook her head. "You will be on your knees."_

" _We'll see." Rick replied, glanced at the time, "I have about three minutes to get under control."_

 _Kate laughed. "I will go to a drive through for coffee."_

" _Good idea."_

 **Chapter 68 -**

Precinct, approximately twenty minutes later.

After Beckett made a visit to the little girls' room she returned to the bullpen to see Castle, Ryan and Esposito seated in front of a computer, she guessed they were busy with researching the bondage scene. She swung by her desk to fetch a note pad she'd written a note on a few minutes earlier and to down the remains of her take away coffee.

Ryan turned a little towards Esposito and shared, "It's a little creepy doing this with you breathing on my neck."

"Oh, sorry, bro. I mean, I'd do it on mine, but IA checks browser history, so..."

Beckett rolled her eyes in disbelief as Ryan replied, "Great. Thanks."

Esposito pointed at the monitor, "What the hell does that thing do?"

She saw Ryan's brow furrowed, "Looks like a potato peeler." She picked up her cell phone and dialed Lanie's number.

"Yeah, Kev. Oh, that is nasty. Oh." Espo squirmed in his seat.

Castle glanced at Beckett as she approached and added, "And illegal in twelve States."

Beckett studied the monitor, and spoke into the phone, "Yeah, you're right. That is weird. Okay. Thank you." She hung up.

Castle asked her, "What's weird?"

"Lanie ran a SART kit. There's no signs of sexual assault or activity. This has all the makings of a sex crime, but there's no sex involved." Her brow furrowed.

"Well, maybe our psychopath believes in abstinence." Rick suggested.

"It's more likely he has a performance problem, Castle." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he immediately when to object to her subtext. He closed his mouth when he remembered where they were. Beckett continued, "And there's no ID. Her fingerprints aren't in the system."

Ryan and Esposito said, with tilted heads to the left, "Oh! No, no, no, no, no."

Ryan said, "How do you even get in that position?"

Esposito said, "I don't know, but you should try that with your, uh, girlfriend, honey milk. As a matter of fact, I think I'm gonna buy this for you right now."

Castle who took a closer inspection of the monitor, then asked, "Oh, jeez. How do you even get in that position?"

Ryan nodded, "Right? It's not even possible."

Beckett walked behind the, viewed the monitor and said, "Oh, it's possible."

Castle, Ryan and Esposito turned to stare at her.

Beckett shrugged and continued, "Anything on the canvass?"

"Nothing yet," Esposito replied, "And nothing back from missing persons. Given that it just happened last night, it's most likely not gonna be reported for a couple of days."

Beckett asked, "What about the cuffs?"

"We found seven shops in Manhattan that make custom bondage gear," Ryan answered.

Esposito said, "And while we're waiting to hear back, we're gonna buy a gift for Ryan's imaginary girlfriend."

"Ooh, yeah. When are we gonna meet that Jenny?" Castle inquired.

Ryan was shy but firm, "When the time is right, I'll bring her around. I don't want you guys scaring her off." He picked up his phone that rang out with an incoming call.

Esposito being a smart ass, stated, "Oh, there she is now."

Ryan shook his head in the negative as he picked up the call, "Hello. Detective Kevin Ryan."

Beckett gazed between writer and detective, "You guys, give him a break. I wouldn't bring my boyfriend around here either."

Castle sat up, "Boyfriend?" He glanced to Esposito who shrugged, "Did I miss something?"

Beckett smiled mysteriously.

Ryan disconnected the call, "So that was Barry from the Love Shackle." He said to his team, "He says the cuffs might be theirs, but he'd have to examine 'em up close to know for sure."

"Well then, have evidence pull them and tell them I'm coming." Beckett grabbed her keys, indicated to Castle with a hand wave they were about to leave.

Castle instantly stood, shook his clothing straight, "Oh, a field trip to a sex store." He grinned gleefully, "I love this case," he told the boys as he hurried after Beckett who was already on her way to the elevators.

Ryan said, "Look at him following her. Who's whipped, huh, me or him?"

Esposito smirked, and looked from Beckett and Castle to Ryan, "You, bro, hands down."

Ryan's phone tinged with receipt of a text message on his phone. He read it with a chuckle, causing Esposito to shake his head. It was his new girlfriend calling.

"Duct tape would come in handy right about now." Beckett muttered under her breath, almost five minutes into the journey to the adult shop. That was a full five continual minutes of Castle yapping and barely taking a breath between sentences. The excitement level had spiked the second he'd closed the car door and it had barely dropped.

He heard her. "C'mon Beckett, we are hitting a sex shop and you're not even slightly stirred by the idea we could purchase some new toys to add to your collection while we're there? That you're telling me you aren't sexually aroused by-"

"Castle," she cut in, and puffed out an exasperated hot pocket of air from her lungs, "I'm going there for work!"

Rick released an involuntary moan, "Fuck that was a sexy act, Beckett. You drive me crazy some days."

"Castle!" She objected, unable to hold back a grin, "What is going on with you today?"

"What do you mean? I'm a guy, I have a heartbeat, a girlfriend and we are going to-"

"If you wanted to go to a sex shop with me, why on earth didn't you say so?"

"It hasn't really crossed my mind. Between us, we seem to have an array of …"

"Okay. Got it."

"Of toys, Kate. Adult toys." He continued ignoring her attempt to close the conversation.

"Yes. Roger that." She confirmed, glanced at him. "Shit this is embarrassing."

"Really? Embarrassing with me? After all the things I've seen you do? That we have done together?"

"Yes."

Castle chewed on her response for several seconds before he continued, "It's funny, Kate. In the bedroom, you're all green lights. Anything goes. No complaints. But you're not able to talk about it later, without getting all flustered and shutting down the topic."

"I'm not flustered."

"Oh yeah?" He lightly tapped the rear vision mirror, "Check out those rosy cheeks and neck, Baby."

Beckett glanced at Rick, pressed her lips together, determined not to examine her face. It was obvious anyway, as her skin was burning from her throat upwards. She stared forward and drove.

"Do you know where the Love Shackle is?" She asked, unsure where their destination was.

Rick paused, stilled and turned to look at Beckett, one hand resting on the dash the other touched her knee. "Is this a trick question?"

Beckett laughed, "No. But I can understand why you ask. I don't know where I'm going, Castle."

"Okay, let's see." His phone appeared in his hand. "The Love Shackle," he muttered.

There was silence while he got the maps up and running to get the location, then he searched ahead, and pointed, "Keep going another four blocks then turn left, Beckett."

"Thanks." She pressed the pedal to the medal a little seeing the road ahead was clear, "Listen Castle. Don't be buying stuff in this store today, okay?" She glanced to him to reinforce she was serious. Immediately his eyes glistened and he smirked.

"Sure," he agreed, "But it comes with conditions." He kept watch of the map and the streets. "Next left."

"Here we go," she grumbled, "Conditions?"

"Yes. We visit a sex shop sometime soon when you're off duty."

"And in another city. Castle. What happened to online orders?"

He scoffed, "What happened to your sense of adventure? The journey to buy something? The rebellious, risk taking girl in you that longs to do naughty things? And how about the anticipation of what will be when we get home?" He patted the dash. "Christ, I'm getting horny just thinking about it and its been what five days?"

"Fuck Castle, yeah five days and about four hours." She smiled, licked her lips, kind of self-conscious she'd just let him know she was counting.

"Oh, keeping track of time by the hour." He observed quite impressed, "And, circles back to the green lights I mentioned before."

"Anyway," she continued, "I get all that anticipation stuff when I go shopping for new boots, clothes or perhaps a new novel."

"And I should point out that you can purchase variations all of those things in an adult store." He raised his hand in the general direction of the shop.

"Really?" She sighed, "But, you're right."

"I know. There it is. I for one would love to see you in nurse's outfit for instance. A Playboy Bunny even." He grunted joyfully captivated by his own imagination.

"What?"

"Playboy Bunny?"

"Geezus, Castle. Playboy Bunny?"

"You would look gorgeous. My mother was once a Playboy Bunny." He then kind of gagged, "Just the thought-"

"You serious?"

"Yes. She was.

"No, I mean, it's okay for you to imagine me in a Playboy Bunny outfit but not for your mother to have been one? She was a stunning woman in her time, Castle. I've seen a few of her photos."

"She's showed you too, huh?" He asked in resignation, "There's a car space just up there." Rick waved a hand in the direction of the space. Kate drove to it.

"She thought he sounded disappointed. That confused her. "She's an actress, Castle," she stressed. "Those photos are evidence of her past, her career." Beckett swung the car into the parking space then turned off the engine.

"As a Playboy Bunny?"

"Well, she was and is still a beautiful woman," she turned to Castle. "Your ruggedly handsomeness came from somewhere."

"We can only rely on my mother's. God and my mother only know what my father's genes are like."

Kate grunted a response. She didn't know what to say about the other person who had participated in Castle's creation.

"Getting back to the murder case and the sex store." She eventually said.

"Okay." He said.

"I will go to a sex shop with you one day, but-" She held up her hand to silence the anticipated interruption. "When we go in here today, we're on duty, got it?"

"Got it." He smiled, scanned her entire face, "But I'm still gonna have fun." He then grinned.

"Shit." Beckett rolled her eyes. Castle laughed. "I should have left you at the Precinct with the guys. I anticipated you would be like this."

"Mm. Maybe. We have about six hours to fill until we can have some private time and I will put it out there again, that I cannot wait to see you naked. In the meantime, there is no reason why we can't have some adventure."

"Working hours, Castle."

"Working hours, filled with foreplay, Beckett."

She growled out her pretend frustration, in an attempt to keep him in some sort of control. She knew it was in vain. All he did was laugh like a boy. She turned about and got out the car. There wasn't a chance in hell she was ever going to get him to behave on this case. It was a case of get all angry at him or join in and turn it into foreplay. She decided to knock herself out on foreplay. "Sex, murder and Castle. What a combination." She relayed to him over the roof of the car with a smartass smirk and a tilt of her head to the left.

He laughed, "And don't forget to add to that mix, we have had a sexual drought."

"That drought," she replied, "It just might continue if you keep this up." She fell in beside him to walk along the pavement to the entrance.

"Geez, already threatening to shut up shop this early in the relationship." Castle remarked looking ahead to where the store was.

"Uh huh," she agreed then smiled at him. "I bet I could hold off longer than you."

"Arr…" He deduced then said, "You think you're the master of your domain."

"I certainly am," she replied with complete confidence.

"I would win," he stated, equally confident.

"I would," she retorted.

Castle stopped, and brought her to a halt with a gentle hand to her wrist. He got in close and spoke so only she could hear him. "Are you telling me that when you get that little itch you get-"

She pressed her lips together, but waited.

"-That you won't be climbing all over me like you do, often do, trying to get me to scratch that little itch?" He raised an eyebrow in question and glanced down her body before he returned to her eyes, "I know, and have been known to thoroughly enjoy, the power of persuasion that little itch has over you."

For a moment, she thought about that image, that sensation he'd put in her imagination, of him relieving that itch. She was known to seduce him, tease him until he pursued her. She loved doing it. "Nope," she stubbornly stated. "You will cave before me."

"Okay. Interesting." He scratched his jaw in thought, "How about we have a little wager on your little itch then."

She stepped in close and stared into his blue eyes. They were so bright. "How much we talkin' about, Castle?"

He glanced about, then looked back at her, "I don't know. Let's see. If I win I get whatever I desire from you, whenever I want for a week."

"You do anyway," she replied, glanced between his eyes and lips. "Make it something you really want, Castle."

"Okay. You will take a week off work and come away with me."

"Okay. If I win, you have to take me to a place where I can wear the new dress."

He gawked at her, "Really? Is that it? Pick something harder. I will book a place for Saturday evening. Get the dress out."

After due consideration she replied, "Okay. Well, Castle, my little itch might get the upper hand." She stepped closer to his right ear, "And we are venturing into a sex shop. I also should tell you that I have that wine that gets me all-" she screwed up her nose, whispered, " _Itchy_ ," then returned to a seductive tone, "Sitting on ice at home waiting for tonight, and I can clearly see today that you have missed me…"

"I," he looked down his body, "We missed you," he echoed.

She stood back and presented him with the sexiest look she could muster up in public. "You so sure you wanna commit to such a bet when you can have all this?" She walked off, continued on her path to the store.

Rick slapped his hand to his chest. His heart beat rapidly. His groin ached for her. His eyes stared at her hot ass walking away. She paused, partially turned and looked over her shoulder at him. He died again when he saw her seductive expression. It was bitter sweet. He groaned.

"Coming, Castle?" She turned back and pushed open the door of the shop.

Inside the Love Shackle store, Beckett and Castle separately wandered about taking in the surroundings. The store was chock full of adult content from novelty items, to hardcore sex aids. Castle wasn't too concerned about the stock because it wasn't his first venture to such a store and anyway, he was busy with internal business. His body was feverish with want, brimmed full of desire to have Beckett, so much so, he could barely contain himself. It was a new and thrilling experience. Something he hadn't really had with other women. Variations granted, but with Kate it was more intense. The build-up of tonight, the foreplay, they were creating was really winding him up. He internally cursed the woman for being such a tease. Once again that day, he spent the better part of a few minutes taming the beast within. Eyes averted from Beckett, he observed boring sex aids and slowly and deeply breathed. It was a little bit more difficult to tame than normally.

Once he had a level of control he was comfortable with, and as they roamed the store, Castle decided to stir Beckett up a bit. Get his mind off the sex. "You know, while we're here, we should really pick up something for that new imaginary boyfriend of yours you told the boys about before." He showed her a spanking paddle with spikes to one side of it, "Oh!" He inspected the paddle, both sides, "Is this his speed, Beckett?"

Beckett glared at him, raised an eyebrow, then looked at the black leather mask on a mannequin's head, "No. But if you keep talking, I'll put you in one of these." She pointed at the gag mask then zipped up the mouth. "I could have done with this in the car before."

"You loved it," he quickly bounced back.

A bloke in his late forties appeared from the rear of the shop, approached Beckett and openly inspected her body, from head to toe and back. She didn't catch it but Rick didn't miss a beat. He also wasn't particularly thrilled about it. However, he chose not to react. Had the guy done it out of work hours he might have stepped up. But he also kind of got a kick out of the fact that the guy was checking out his girlfriend in her tight denims and leather jacket. She did look hot. She was often admired and asked out. He was the guy who was dating her and he was quite chuffed about that.

"Hey, guys. Looking for something special?" The salesman asked.

Castle immediately replied, "Yes."

Beckett turned about the find the man who owned the voice and replied, "No."

The manager chuckled, "Just gettin' started, huh?" He glanced at Rick who frowned. With a glance, Castle shared a conversation with Beckett. She wasn't impressed by the store manager either.

"Yeah," the manager continued, "We get a lot of first timers." He waved his hand at the array of stock in the store, "We carry everything from bondage 101 all the way up to the more advanced stuff for your pleasure PhD. But if you're just looking to dip your toe in the water, these little guys are best sellers." He reached out, grabbed a pair of fluffy handcuffs and dangled the set from his fingers. "Want to give 'em a try?"

Beckett pulled back her jacket enough to reveal the brass attached to her belt, partnered with a set of silver cuffs, "No, thanks. I've already got a pair of my own. But I do have a set of cuffs I would like you to take a look at."

"Arr," he gave a nod of understanding, "You're from the precinct the cops called from." He walked away.

Beckett and Castle followed the guy to the counter where she got out the cuffs contained within a plastic zip lock bag.

Barry examined the cuffs from the crime scene, then put them down on the counter, "Double cross lap stitch on the seam. Yeah, this is definitely one of mine."

Beckett asked, "Can you tell us who ordered them?"

"Yeah, I remember this kid. Very vanilla. Then again, it's always the normal-looking ones that end up being the most freaky, right?"

Beckett fidgeted, realized she did and ceased. Beside her Castle cleared his throat.

"It's the quiet ones you've gotta watch," Castle stated and looked over Beckett settling on her widened eyes. He wanted to laugh.

Beckett looked at the store manager, tried to ignore Castle and asked, "Do you have a name or a billing address?"

"Yeah." He began to tap on the keyboard to his computer, and given a moment or two he had the information they wanted. "The cuffs were purchased six months ago by a Tyler Benton. He had 'em specially made for his girlfriend. Cute girl, too."

On their way out of the story a couple of minutes later, Beckett said to Castle, "We need to talk to Tyler Benton and find out what he was doing last night."

Castle replied, "My guess is killing his girlfriend."

"I'll get the boys to bring him in. Let's go for lunch."

"Hotel lunch?"

"Food, Castle. You can wait for the other."

"What do you feel like for lunch?" He asked as they approached the police car.

Beckett paused in her step, had a momentary think about his inquiry, then looked at him and suggested, "Hotdogs?"

"Ohhh… funny girl." He pointed and waved in the negative at her. "No. I'm not going to watch you eat a hot dog today."

"Subway?" She unlocked the car. "Foot long sandwich?"

"Definitely not. Get in." He firmly said.

Inside the vehicle she continued to be a smart ass, "Cucumber salad."

"You like talking dirty and being devious, Detective."

"Your dirty mind, writer boy. What shall we eat?"

"Cheeseburgers, Detective and I will call the boys to see what they want."

She laughed, "This is so much fun, Castle."

"Sure, Honey." He watched her drive, could see her trying to think of something to say, to tease him a little more. "Can I ask you a question?"

Beckett glanced to him. "If you're gonna ask me to pull into a hotel or swing by one of our apartments, then no."

"I wish I was driving, but no not that."

"Then what?"

"You haven't had a go on me for not calling you while I was gone."

She glanced at him again, seriously this time then shrugged, "You were busy."

"Any other girlfriend would have fried me for that."

"I'm not every other girlfriend, Castle. I don't ask you for money either."


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69- -**

Interrogation room

Somewhere during the hour Beckett and Castle ate a decent lunch of cheeseburgers, shakes and fries, the victim had been formally identified as a PhD student named Jessica Margolis. It had been done by Tyler Benton who was the boyfriend of the deceased. He was a first year medical doctor and had come off of a 24 hour shift at a local hospital he was employed at.

When Castle and Beckett returned to the Precinct, the full effect of their large meals had taken place. Both were calmer and their sex drives had dropped significantly, returning some sort of order to the pair.

They interviewed Tyler Benton and quickly confirmed that the hand cuffs found on the victim had been a gift from Tyler a few months back. The gift had been a joke because of the research Jessica was undertaking. Her research related to the sociology of sexual bondage and domination. As far as Tyler knew, the handcuffs were kept at Jessica's apartment. She had spent months meeting people in the world of bondage and domination trying to understand what made them tick.

By the time they finished speaking with Tyler, the team had begun to believe Jessica had been murdered by one of the people she had observed. They only needed to find the site she had been murdered. Tyler didn't seem to have a grudge big enough to kill his girlfriend. It came across to the detectives he genuinely loved his girlfriend. He was also way too busy with work at the hospital for any extracurricular activities.

As Castle also pointed out behind the scenes, the man was a doctor and dedicated his life to saving lives.

The entire team attended Jessica's old apartment where they met her flat mate and best friend, Danielle. She was a petite blond woman and was quite upset over the news her best friend was deceased.

The last time Danielle had seen Jessica was the previous morning.

She didn't know much about Jessica's research because the student pretty much kept all the research to herself.

An investigation of the apartment by Esposito and Ryan had them conclude that Jessica had been murdered somewhere else. Her cell phone wasn't in the apartment so they put a trace on the cell phone. Danielle had indicated that Jessica was at Hudson University while her boyfriend had been at work.

At Hudson University, Castle and Beckett caught up with Professor Stevenson who was the late Jessica's advisor. All he could provide them with was that she wasn't at the university last night. He did know that she was spending a lot of time with a dominatrix named Mistress Venom as part of her research.

They organized for a janitor to unlock the filing cabinet where Jessica had kept her study notes secured. While they waited, they met Jessica's co-students who were also on the PhD program. Competition between the three students was passively ruthless.

One co-student who identified herself as Kelly, informed Beckett that in the last few weeks, Jessica had received phone calls on her office line that involved heavy breathing and moaning, the kind of calls that made one want to take a hand sanitizer shower afterwards. She had reported it to their Professor.

Once the janitor had the cabinet opened, Beckett and Castle had Jessica's files boxed. They transported the evidence to the Precinct.

Back at the bullpen, they sat in the spare office with the files spread out over the table.

Castle scanned the papers with his rapid reading skills, glanced at Beckett every quarter minute and constantly dwelled on having sex with her. She was slower with the reading, played with her hair a little and generally did things that repeatedly aroused him, especially when she bit either her lips.

He cleared his throat then said, "Jessica's notes on Venom's sessions are pretty detailed. She studied these guys like lab rats." He continued to scan the notes.

"But she only identified them by nickname. Lady boy, Pin Cushion and Scared Bunny." Kate replied, tilting her head in an attempt to read handwriting that was messy at times. "She used shorthand."

"Mm. Her own," Rick agreed, "You know, Beckett," he sat up straighter, glanced over her face to see she had that cute frown of deep concentration. It sometimes appeared when… he had to stop thinking about sex. He read on a bit, thought about Jessica's subjects. "You know, Kate, if these men didn't know what Jessica was doing, and one of them found out..."

She paused from reading, "Mm. Fear of exposure would be a strong motive to kill."

Castle put down a file and rubbed his chin in thought, "I wonder what attracted her to all this."

"Well, according to her thesis proposal, she became interested in S and M after witnessing a dysfunctional relationship up close. Apparently, her dissertation compares the overt expressions of dominance in the dungeon to more subtle expressions in real-world relationships... Like who drives?"

"Hey, I would drive if you would let me." Castle responded which caused Beckett to smile. "That actually didn't prove my point like I thought it would." He pondered,

"You get to drive other times," Beckett whispered so only he heard and glanced to him which caused him to smile in understanding. She continued to read, and moments later she said louder, "You know, it says here that Mistress Venom works in a bondage club somewhere in Dungeon Alley, but it doesn't say which one."

"Dungeon Alley?" Castle queried his tone unsure.

"It's an area between Chelsea and Midtown," Beckett explained. "There's a whole slew of fetish clubs there."

Castle frowned, "Yes, I know where Dungeon Alley is. I want to know... How do _you_ know?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, "C'mon Castle." She stared at him. He waiting for a replied. She sighed, "Vice raided a few of them looking for a reason to shut them down. But since there's no sexual contact and the acts are all consensual, it was perfectly legal."

"Hmm," his face brightened, "You know, Beckett, you should moonlight." He held up a hand to paused her from shutting him down when he read her expression, "Seriously, you would make a fortune." He leaned toward her a little, glanced suggestively between her lips and breasts, "Come on, Honey. Haven't you ever wanted to do... something with your handcuffs other than arrest criminals? Huh?"

"No." Beckett replied and cautiously glanced into the bullpen. Rick saw in her expression exactly what she was thinking. She was amused by his question, and willing to play along with his style of foreplay which they seemed to have reverted back to. She pressed her lips together momentarily, shifted a bit closer to him and switched on the charm, "But there is one … hot... wild... kinky thing that I do like doing."

Castle was totally drawn in to her promiscuous behavior. Listened and observed, responded. She made good use of her large pretty eyes.

They flickered between his eyes and mouth before she said louder and seriously, "Putting killers behind bars."

Castle's elbow suddenly slipped off the edge of the table. He promptly recovered and sat up, cleared his throat, his thoughts, and said, "See?"

She raised an eyebrow in question.

"You're already a tease. You're halfway there." He settled his sight on her, undressed her body with his eyes. She sensed it, sat up. Her cheeks blushed enough to make him smile.

Ryan entered the meeting room, paused and glanced between his two colleagues. His brow furrowed when he noticed their postures and expressions. He quickly chose to ignore it and said, "Hey, we tried to trace the creepy calls that Jessica was getting at her office. But since they were routed through the main switchboard at the college, there's no way to determine their source."

Behind him Esposito entered the office as well and stepped in beside Ryan.

"What about the cell phone?" Beckett asked.

Esposito replied, "The day she died, she placed a call to her boyfriend at the hospital, she placed a call to her voice mail at the office, and she placed two calls to Lady Irena's House of Pain."

Beckett glanced to Castle, "Lady Irena's House of Pain? That must be where Mistress Venom works." She looked to the boys, "Did you get an address, Espo?"

"Yeah, an office building on 38th. Got the phone number." He waved a piece of paper about.

Ryan smirked, "Oh, conveniently located for all your lunchtime spanking needs."

Beckett commenced to stand up and waved her hand over the files, "All right, you guys look through her notes, see if there's anything that's there that might implicate one of her clients. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go and meet this Mistress Venom." She took a post it note from Esposito and read the handwriting.

As Castle followed Beckett out of the office, he cheekily said, "Whips, women and murder - sounds like my lucky day."

Beckett located her cell phone and said to Castle, "I'm so glad you're excited by this." She began to dial the number Esposito had handed to her. Rick saw the name and number on the Post it.

Suddenly conscious of what Beckett was about to do he attempted to put the brakes on her. "Whoo," he called reaching to her phone.

Beckett ducked away, talked into the phone and sped up her pace. "Hi, my name is Kate, and my boyfriend-" she started to make ground from Castle, but shot him a look not to interfere, "Has been a very bad boy." She had to walk faster because Castle was in pursuit of the phone, "Yes, that's right. His name's Ricky."

"What are you doing?"

In the breakout room, Beckett commenced to circle the kitchen table, mainly to put distance between herself and the boyfriend. "Actually, a friend of mine recommended a Mistress Venom."

"Wait." Castle interrupted, chasing her.

Beckett who hurried to get away, glanced over her shoulder at Castle, "Is she available tonight? 4:00 pm?"

"You know what?"

Beckett continued the conversation on the phone, "Sure, that's perfect. Thank you." She disconnected the call and turned about to face Rick.

"Okay, that's very funny." He stated, right up near her. He swallowed and seriously requested, "Now call her back."

Beckett shook her head, "Unh-unh, Castle. This is the perfect way to get Venom without tipping our hand." She read his worried expression and stepped in closer so she could speak quietly, "What's the matter, Castle? You afraid of a little role play?" She laughed, a perfect grin of teasing directed at him. Then she turned about and hurried from the room leaving Castle there to stew on what she had done.

Castle called, "Yeah, you better run." He smiled to himself, very aware of how he was going to get even with her. She was gonna regret this late tonight.

A squeal of surprise escaped Beckett. Without warning Castle suddenly reached out surrounded her waist and drew her hard against his body. It was aggressive and controlled. With swiftness and ease, he lifted her body clear off the ground, and withdrew them into an obscure corner of the Precinct garage. Boots back to the concrete surface, she managed to turn about in his hold to face him.

"You gotta kiss-" It was Kate that said it, Rick that pressed his lips to hers shutting her up. He moaned, pure pleasure. His hands gripped to her buttocks held her against him. The kiss was urgent, fast and keen. Almost a minute into it they spilt apart, panting and grinning like teenagers. They stared at each other. Kate's fingers touched her swollen lips. He steadied her when she lost her balance.

"Castle-"

She briefly glanced around them ensuring no one was around.

"Beckett. This murder is going to test my will power." He slapped his hand against the brick wall. "Ready to do it right now."

She looked from him to the cement brick wall and back at him, her brow knotting. "No. You gotta wait, Buddy." She smiled, turned and commenced to walk to the car. Rick hurried after her.

When the car doors closed, Beckett turned to Castle who was already angled to her.

"That was so hot, Castle." She smiled and bit her bottom lip, an involuntary giggle escaping.

"What, that grab on the ass and the kiss-you-moment?"

"Mm. Was sweet."

"What is not sweet is you booking me in with Mistress Venom." He picked up her hand held it in both his, "I cannot wait to get you home tonight."

"I can taste you, Castle." She started the car, checked the time. "Two hours and counting."

Minus a further fifteen minutes, they arrived at Irena's House of Pain where Mistress Venom was employed. They entered through double doors to an executive reception. An attractive blond woman was at the desk to welcome them.

Castle scanned the entrance, the elegant, formal reception area, as he said, "This place looks like a law firm, Beckett."

"What'd you think it was gonna be? Torture wheels and women in corsets?"

Castle shrugged, "Well, yeah."

Beckett smiled devilishly, "That's in the back."

They approached an impressive reception desk. Beckett kept her gloves on, her leather coat zipped up tight and she carried an air of superiority in her composure.

The young woman behind the desk smiled politely, professionally. "Welcome to Lady Irena's House of Pain. How can I serve you?"

Rick stopped before the counter and waited for Beckett to show her badge, reply to the woman.

Beckett stopped beside Castle, gave him a second to reply, but for once he was quiet." She turned her head, looked at him. "Well, answer her!"

His body jolted a little in response to her loud voice. He glared at her with a dark look.

Beckett stifled a giggle, maintained a determined expression, turned her attention to the receptionist and said, "You see what I have to deal with?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow. The Detective's tone continued. "My boyfriend, Ricky, has an appointment at four pm with Mistress Venom."

"Will you be joining him?"

Beckett could hold back the curve of her lips. "Oh, yes. I've been dying to watch him squirm."

"Mistress Venom would be delighted to have an audience." The woman with the dead straight blond hair stood and commenced to walk towards a doorway off to her right, "Follow me, please."

"Do you think we could gag him?"

Castle sighed, well aware Beckett was thoroughly enjoying this, way too much. He was reminded of the night she tied him up with the pink tie. He cleared his throat, recalling a little more. "Remember, my safe word is apples."

"Apples it is." Beckett replied as they followed the woman. She paused and leaned towards Castle as she added, "You will be needing it with what I have planned for later."

Rick momentarily closed his eyes, "Oh, don't. Please. The anticipation alone is killing me."

"Two hours."

"And counting, Honey."

They followed the receptionist to a doorway on the right that she opened. "Please wait in there."

They were left inside a darkened room, named the room of pain according to the sign on the door they had entered. There were iron bars and leather cuffs, chains and garb all in line with what one would expect to find in such as establishment. Place was immaculately clean.

"Certainly not like a legal office in here." Castle muttered as he took in the surroundings and hardware. For once he didn't feel like touching things.

"Got a workbench." Beckett commented giving the mattress a slap as she glided past a place to lay, to be tied up, to be subdued she guessed. "We should have booked the room for an hour."

Castle snorted, "You're fucking kidding me, Beckett."

She laughed. "Actually, I'm not."

Castle sobered, his thoughts drawn to Beckett and the slab she had heartily patted. "You sometimes terrify me, Beckett."

"Mm. Nice to know, Castle."

"So what would Dominatrix KBex like to do in this room?"

It got a reaction that caused Castle to smirked in amusement. Comfortable for the moment, Castle rested a butt casually on that bench, then watched Beckett roam the room clearly thinking about his query. As much as he joked, he could see her quite successfully being a dominatrix. She got off playing around with him at home. She liked to be on top. He was certain she wouldn't do it as a sideline, but also saw her capabilities. He decided to tease her. "You should bring your new boyfriend here."

"Ha." She smiled, confessed in hushed tones, "But he's with me now." She made a circle gazing around the dark room, "I have to confess, Ricky, this is really turning me on, Ricky. My place tonight?"

He scoffed, and replied with assertiveness. "Any place tonight, Honey. I'm counting down the minutes to get inside your panties."

"Mmm." She responded as she passed him, her eyes shamelessly aimed at his groin. "I've got fifty seven minutes left."

"Any you're not counting?" He glanced at his watch. She was right. Then he casually took a look at her ass in the tight jeans and didn't hide it from her that he was checking her out.

"Cannot wait." He said.

"Me neither." Kate replied then spun about when she heard the door handle move. The door opened, drawing their attention and a woman stepped into the room. She was glamorous, attired in expensive leather. Her hair and make up was perfect and she wore prominent red lip stick.

Beckett approached the woman who was almost as tall as her. "Mistress Venom?"

"Mistress Venom is unavailable." The woman replied, "But I'm Lady Irena. I own this dungeon. I'm sure we can find another dominatrix to suit your needs." She took in Beckett, then acknowledged Castle who stood up to greet the woman.

Castle was unable to stop staring at Lady Irena. Beckett noticed, wondering if it was her perfectly styled red hair, her perfectly applied make up or her overall appearance. The woman, who was older than Beckett by a good five years was stunning.

Beckett re-focused, "I'm afraid we can't." She produced her NYPD badge and presented it to the woman, "I'm Detective Beckett. I need to speak with her right now concerning a murder investigation."

"Who was murdered?"

"Jessica Margolis. The PhD student who was observing her sessions."

"There was no one observing her sessions." Lady Irena replied.

Beckett glanced to Castle, uncertain, then asked the woman, "Are you sure?

Lady Irena gave a nod, "Positive. Privacy is paramount in my dungeon."

Beckett searched through her clipboard until she found the license photo she wanted of their victim. She held it up for Lady Irena to view, "You've never seen this girl?"

"Of course I've seen that girl." She opened an album she had been holding and commenced to flick the pages until she came upon the photo she wanted, "She wasn't observing Mistress Venom. She was Mistress Venom." She showed them a large photograph of Jessica dressed up as Mistress Venom. They were the same pieces of clothing she'd been found in. Castle came in closer the view the photo.

"That's her." Beckett murmured mainly to Castle.

"She was not only studying them, she was totally involved in the study."

Beckett pointed over the boots Jessica wore in the picture, "Well, this explains the marks on her body. Jessica must have been wearing this before she died."

"Like cruel shoes, these outfits can leave marks for hours after you wear them." Lady Irena said, "She had three sessions yesterday. She left around 7:30."

Castle returned to rest against the bench, more comfortable with distance between Lady Irena and himself. He asked, "You really had no idea that Jessica was conducting a sociological experiment out of your dungeon?"

"No." Irena's gaze remained on Castle a little longer than necessary, "She came to me about six months ago. Quickly became one of my most requested doms."

Beckett asked, "Did Jessica have any clients who were unusually obsessed with her?"

"Of course. I mean, they all were. But her clients were submissive. Killing is an act of dominance."

Beckett replied, "You and I both know that people aren't that simple. Men might come here for humiliation and torture, but it's easy to imagine that one of them might have been pushed too far and lashed out."

"If she was concerned for her safety, she would've told me." Irena replied firmly.

"Do you have a list of Jessica's clients?" Beckett asked.

"Detective... All of the services that we provide here are perfectly legal. Now part of that service is protecting the privacy of our client. I'm not about to betray the trust that they've paid for because you have a hunch."

"Oh, I think it's more than just a hunch." She quickly replied.

"Well, gee, I'm sorry. Unless you have a court order, my hands are tied, so to speak." Lady Irena said as nicely as possible but there was not a bit of wriggle room in her tone.

Castle chuckled aware Beckett would not back down. Neither woman would.

"You're pretty well-versed in law for a dominatrix." Beckett remarked.

"Don't let the leather fool you. I used to be a partner at a law firm."

Castle breathed out, "Wow."

Lady Irena turned to Castle and said, "When you dominate and manipulate men in every boardroom and courtroom that you're in, this just seemed like the natural progression." She walked towards Castle and faced him, stared at him for several seconds. He was in a trance.

"It's called Mistress Red."

Castle swallowed, then feebly asked, "Excuse me?

"My lipstick. I noticed you couldn't stop staring."

Beckett left the room a little peeved that Lady Irena wouldn't hand over a list of client details. Rick almost hugged her shoulder on their way out.

"Sorry," he hissed, "It was just hypnotic."

"It's not you." Beckett whispered, "It's her."

"Well, if you're so upset, we could find someone for you to go medieval on, like, uh, him perhaps." He waved a hand towards a chained and blindfolded man they walked by. He was also on a leash being walked by a woman in black leather.

Beckett gave him a look, "I do have a kinky box at home."

"Seriously?"

"Mm." She kept walking, distracted and thinking about how to obtain the client list of the deceased.

"Just not me, huh? Not today." He pleaded.

Beckett ignored Castle, "She wants to protect her clients?" She asked the universe. "What about her girls?"

A woman hurried after them, hissed, "Hey."

Castle and Beckett stopped and turned about to see the younger dominatrix. She asked Beckett with a broad New York accent. "You the cop?"

Beckett said, "I'm detective Beckett."

"I'm Mistress Sapphire. So, it's true? She's dead?"

"Yes. I'm sorry-" Beckett replied

Mistress Sapphire cut in, "This weird thing happened last week, I think you should know about."

Castle now interested asked, "With one of her clients?"

"Sort of." The woman replied, "A first-time client came in for a session, but he left just after a few minutes. I found her in the locker room, crying."

"Did she tell you why?" Beckett asked.

"No."

Beckett continued, "This client, do you remember anything about him?"

"It was a week ago, and I only saw him from behind. But he was wearing one of those medical shirts."

Beckett thought about it, then offered up, "Scrubs?"

Mistress Sapphire nodded, "Yes."

Castle looked to Beckett and asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Beckett keenly replied, "Jessica's boyfriend discovered her secret identity."

"And instead of proposing to her, he kills her." He suggested.

A half hour later they were at the Precinct in the Interrogation room with Tyler again. He'd agreed to return for further questioning.

Their eyes were also on the clock.

Castle was itching to get home. Beckett was impatient to end her work day and it impacted on the way she approached the meeting with Tyler. She basically went for the jugular and accused him of murdering his girlfriend. Her direct approach surprised Castle enough to have him sit up, keen to see the response. She got it. Tyler's face went red and every vein possible throbbed over his face. He denied knowing she was a Mistress and denied having gone to the dungeon to confront Jessica.

It was a short discussion and Beckett let the guy go after.

She slumped in her office chair, while listening to someone from the hospital speak to her over the phone. She thanked them and hung up. She put her head to her hands and said to Castle who was seated in his lousy old chair.

"He was telling the truth about the lease. Not only did he and Jessica sign the lease, but it was also notarized. The woman in HR also confirmed he signed in and off both times and was at the hospital when we thought he was at the dungeon and the night Jessica was killed." She was deflated and tired.

Montgomery who had approached behind them said, "That doesn't mean he didn't do it. He could'a had her sign to help his alibi."

Castle replied, "Maybe she was afraid of him. I've been thinking - the dysfunctional relationship she refers to in her research - There's a passage where she describes subject "a" as being afraid to tell subject "b" that she's leaving because he's become dangerously codependent. What if she was describing Tyler?"

"Maybe that's why she became a dominatrix, to give her the courage to stand up for herself." The Captain suggested.

"We have uniforms combing through hospital security footage. If Tyler left at any point that night, there should be some trace." Beckett said sitting up again.

Montgomery said, "In the meantime, you two should get home and get some rest. In the morning, let's just keep digging through those notebooks. We're gonna need more than speculation if we want to file charges."

Beckett replied, "Great." She checked the time. It was gone 5.00 pm. Two whole minutes. The Captain was on his way home and she caught Castle staring her down with a look of anticipation all over his face. He tapped his watch. She blushed.

"Let's go." He stood up, "We have something of importance to get on with."

She grinned. "Yus!" She gave the desk a shove.

He'd never seen her pack up so fast. She caught up with him at the elevator foyer inside a minute struggling to pull on her jacket and hold her bag. He took the bag and tugged at her coat until it was resting on her shoulders. He then hit the button hailing the elevator.

"Fucking hurry." He whispered under his breath. "Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." He looked at Beckett. Undressed her in his imagination.

She stared back at him. Inside the elevator after the doors were closed, she shyly said. "You look like you're gonna eat me for dinner."

"That's my plan, my Dear. I'm starving."

"Dear Lordy."

He laughed. "Fucking starving."

She stared at him, watching him visually undress her. "My place? Its closer. Private."

"Anywhere." He virtually pushed her out of the elevator as the doors opened to the ground floor.


	70. Chapter 70

H _i Lyn (guest). You were at Ch 19 when I posted this chapter. Hope you hung in there. Thank you to all the people who leave feedback. Its more than nice to receive._

 **Chapter 70 ish**

"Hurryl" Castle hissed with extreme urgency. "C'mon already."

"Shut up." She fumbled with the keys, tried to stop Castle from taking her in the damn corridor. and fended him off with a slapping hand on his. To no avail. She giggled and squirmed especially when he nibbled at the back of her neck. She shuddered. "Castle. Stop that or we won't get in."

"Faster," he growled into her ear, his hand snaking around her pelvis between her thighs. "I'm gonna get in."

"Stop it." She scorned in hushed tones, glancing down the corridor to ensure no one saw their public display.

"Hurry up," he urged not holding back his laughter. "No one is watching us," he reassured.

She slid the key home. She twisted the damn key. The lock gave. "Yuss!"

"Yes!" Rick reached out with his left arm and shoved open the door. It swung rapidly inwards clunking against a wall. Over balanced because she lost the support of the door, Kate toppled into the entrance. Beckett released a cry of surprise, because, like a Ninja, Castle single handedly righted her body, then swiftly maneuvered her slight frame inside the apartment. With the other hand, he grabbed the keys out of the door.

The candled fragrance of her home, what his consciousness associated with Kate, enhanced his desires for her. Jasmine. She liked jasmine, coconut, vanilla. He kicked the front door closed, locked it and dropped the keys in the bowl. Grunts and giggles broke the silence of the apartment.

Kate patted the wall to locate the light switches. With a click the living room lit up.

"Phones in the bowl," Castle ordered. He snatched the phone from her back pocket. He let go of her.

"No phones, Castle. Not a chance we're gonna be interrupted."

"Hurry up, Honey."

Rick extracted the laptop bag off her shoulder and discarded it on the floor. Once she had the boots off, his arms hooked around her hips once again, strong arms that easily turned her about. She squealed with laughter, and when he drew her abruptly to him she clutched his shoulders. She reached around his neck, their lips crashed and they were kissing. Kissing like mad.

She was hungry, pressed her body into his embrace and gave a hop when he lifted her off the floor. They were clumsy, disorganized but Rick had them stumbling across the living room and into her bedroom within seconds. He threw her to the bed. Joyous squeals of laughter erupted from her as she bounced on the mattress. Her hands were at her jeans, unbuttoned, unzipped. Rick was at her ankles and tugged at the denim, bringing her jeans down her hips, her legs, taking her panties with them.

He grinned boyishly as the jeans peeled off those long legs and he caught sight of the pink underwear. "I told you I'd see how much you want me."

"Shut the fuck up, Castle, and get here now." Kate reached out, had hold of his shirt as soon as he descended upon her and she tugged at the cotton material, pulling the shirt from his jeans.

He was at her top and they paused so she could extract it over her head, exposing her bra. Castle had the bra expertly unhooked in seconds and threw the item over his shoulder. No clumsiness with that task.

He pushed her down to the mattress, kissed her mouth, her neck, her left breast, felt her undo his belt, the zipper in no time. He ravished her harder than usual, was rougher and she was getting off on it. Long legs knocked and rubbed against his body and the hands urged his jeans down his ass, his legs. She grunted, released a cry when he sucked hard on her nipple, gripped at his hips when his actions paused hers.

Somehow, he managed to get right out of his clothing, lifted Kate up the mattress, held her down and guided her knees to part. He paused, his hand giving the apex of her legs an affectionate caress, and a moan of pure desire escaped him.

"Fuck I missed you, Kate." And before she had a chance to reply he went down on her.

Panting heavily, Beckett removed herself off Castle dropping to her back on the bed beside him. Equally spent, he stared at the ceiling soaking in the post climatic sensations. Castle breathed as hard.

Her right hand bent up to touch his left shoulder which caused him to look at her face. A tall slender body perspired and the cheeks glowed, her nipples remained hard. Her eyes were dilated and it was written over her face how much she adored him. She looked beautiful, so lovely he felt his throat tighten with emotion.

"You're so gorgeous," he whispered and stroked her bare hip. He closed his eyes momentarily, savoring the caress over his hair.

"Thank you," she whispered, her hot breaths ghosting his flushed faced, "You're pretty damn handsome."

"Ruggedly handsome," he declared with a boyish grin. "That was needed and we're just getting started."

"That was fucking great." She croaked out. "Messed the bed."

He laughed. What had cause the bed sheets to get messed up was Kate gripping and pulling at them. He'd had her crying out obscenities not long ago, and now her vocal chords were irritated. Pillows had been pushed off the sides of the bed when she had been vocal.

"You messed the bed." He corrected.

"You caused me to."

"I thought I broke you." He laughed.

"I missed you touching me."

"Yeah, I should go away more."

"No. You shouldn't."

"I liked the enthusiasm you had from the elevator onwards." He tilted up his head, peered down at his body contemplating whether it could perform again right now because he still wanted more of her.

"I liked your enthusiasm when you tossed me onto the bed," she replied then took a deep breath to slow her breathing.

He smiled, "Croaky voice."

"You caused that, Castle."

"Wonder the Police aren't banging on the door with the noise you made, Honey."

"You caused that too." She gazed down her body, still pulsing from its arousal. "God that was good. I needed that." She flopped her head back down, "I'm dizzy."

"Give it a minute," he replied, "You always get light headed."

"Mmm. Oxygen has gone from my brain." She laughed, lifted her knees up then plonked her legs back to the mattress. She purred out, "That bit when…"

He chuckled, "Oh yeah," he growled, "We're comfortable with each other now, right?"

She nodded. "Yes. I am, very."

"Good. Because there's gonna be plenty more of this later tonight."

"Promise?"

"Of course. When you pack your overnight bag, don't forget your fluffy cuffs." He rolled to his side to be closer, to look at her face, to stroke back strands of damp brown hair. He loved to gaze at her when she was in a satiated state. That after sex glow she oozed. She too rolled, her hand went to the side of his face, fingers stroked along his jaw going in the direction of his day growth.

"I won't.' She murmured. "My throat is sore. Water."

"Mm." He touched her lower lip. "You have whisker rash."

She smiled, kissed his finger tip, "I always have whisker rash with you."

"It'll go." He rested his hand to her bare hip. "I will call Alexis when we get up. We'll stop by the grocery store…"

"I'll cook for everyone."

His eyes widened, "Really?"

"I can cook, Castle."

"So you've said, Beckett," he teased then put his finger to her lips hushing her potential objection. He then pressed his lips to hers, slipping his hand to her jaw. She responded keenly until she needed air. Apart, she caressed his shoulder.

"I will cook and I missed you so much." Her hand went to his chest and her eyes stayed on his.

Rick had been about to retaliate with a smartass comment about cooking but the latter part of her statement silenced and sobered him. He assessed her expression, seeing nothing but contentment. He took hold of her hand, held it to his chest. "I've gotta admit I've never missed anyone like I did you this week."

Her eyes stared into his, then whispered, "You didn't call me." She swallowed, "Was hard."

"I went to a thousand times-"

"Shhh. I don't want excuses. I'm just saying I missed your calls."

Moments later, it was Kate who rolled away and got off the bed to go to the bathroom. She tossed two pillows back to the head of the bed. Rick watched her disappear, aware she would take a quick shower to freshen up. Awareness was also present that she had just escaped an awkward moment. She had been willing to share that she had missed him, his calls, but she had also scared the crap out of herself for saying it aloud. Even if it was circling in her conscious thoughts, put it out in the universe with such conviction had spooked her. He'd acknowledge quite clearly he'd missed her in the throws of lust, which hadn't bothered her. However, him returning a confession of the same feelings just then, had sent her spiraling out of control.

Given a minute or so, he followed Beckett into the bathroom. She had the shower water running and he looped his arm loosely about her bare waist, kissed her left shoulder. She stared at him via the mirror with widened eyes. She was spookily calm.

He looked to her reflection. "You okay?"

She gave a nod, "Feeling …" A hand waved about then touched her chest to explain what she was trying to say and she glanced over her shoulder at him then reverted to the mirror. "The view of my life, its changing."

"You're fighting with your old life versus your life with me it?"

"Mm" She shrunk into his embrace, hugged his arm against her tummy.

He pressed his lips to her cheek and squeezed. "Don't be scared. You'll always be safe with me." Then he stepped back and gave her backside a pat. "Get in the shower muse, the water is running."

She obeyed and turned about beneath the fall of water, to be close to him. "New life, but secret life and trying to remain in the old life so no one finds out about us." She said.

"But I'm new in your life at the Precinct and you are adapting rather gradually to that. Keep doing what you do because you have them all fooled."

"All I longed to do this morning when I saw you was hug and kiss you." She said as her arms slinked around his shoulders to link at the back of his neck.

"I hope fucking me was on your list because it certainly seems it was."

"Mm. I was. Kissing was a priority." She allowed her hair to get wet and he pushed it from her eyes. "Still is."

"Knock yourself out," he replied. He passed her the soap and sponge.

She lathered up, "I know what I will make for dinner. We just need to drop by the store."

"We will do that. I'll buy a nice wine too, Honey." He encouraged and happy with his rinse off, he got out of the shower.

About an hour later at Castle's apartment, Beckett was busy preparing dinner for the family. Martha and Alexis were home upstairs doing their thing. Beckett had told everyone she was happy to cook alone.

Castle decided against persisting to help and was sitting on the couch with his laptop on his lap. He was intrigued by Lady Irena. She had been partially responsible for revving his engines that evening. In the name of research for work, he was on this Lady Irena's website. Low sounds of screaming and moaning emanated from his computer which had caused Beckett to make a verbal inquiry as to what he was looking at. He replied honestly. He was so fully engrossed in his research, that he failed to notice when Alexis hurried downstairs. Because he didn't hear her on the landing, she crept across the living room hoping to surprise her Dad. She leaned in over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

When Alexis saw what he was looking at, she squawked, "Dad!"

Startled, Castle tried to close and balance his laptop. In the kitchen, Beckett had a little giggle to herself about his reaction.

Castle shot a look at Beckett for not warning him. She shrugged indifferently.

"Do we need to talk about this?" Alexis asked as she straightened up.

"This is research for a case." Castle defended

"Oh." Alexis responded and glanced to Beckett who pretended not to hear any of it as she went about her business in the kitchen.

Castle continued, "And we need to get you some noisier shoes. Seriously, I –" He turned around to face her, at which point saw she was wearing a cheerleaders uniform. He smiled, "Hey, you made the team."

Alexis glanced down to the uniform and shook the pom-poms, "No. Tryouts aren't for another month, but Ashley let me take her uniform home to see how it fits."

"And what do you think?"

"I think it's totally not me," Alexi smiled cheekily, "Which is why I kind of like it."

Castle asked in confusion, "It's not you? So, you like it?"

"Yeah. You know how in Storm Fall, you killed off Derrick Storm because you were bored with him?"

Castle shrugged, "Yeah."

"Well sometimes I feel that way about me, Dad, like I'm hiding inside my comfort zone. And maybe it's time to venture out a little."

"Well, does that venture have to include pom-poms?"

"I don't want to look back on high school and feel like I missed out on something." Alexis replied, "So promise you'll be supportive." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Castle too smiled and leaned into his daughter's show of affection, "Yeah, I, uh... I promise."

Alexis grinned, shot back up and commenced to jump about cheering. The pom-poms flew everywhere from the end of her arms. In the kitchen, Kate enjoyed the moment. Alexis gleefully shouted, "Go, Dad! Whoo! Move, move, move. Get out of the way. 'cause The Bears are comin', and we're ready to play. Go, Bears!" She went through a learned routine, a total beginner, then ran and jumped her way back to the stairs. She ascended them as quickly has she had come down them, this time with pom-poms on the go.

Kate yelled after her, "Dinner will be ready in five minutes, Alexis."

"I'll be there." The bouncing red head called back.

Beckett looked to Rick as he approached the kitchen counter. She couldn't resist the temptation to tease him. "Go, Dad." She hissed at him with a cheeky smile.

"You wait." Castle replied, "Till you have one of those of your own." He leaned against the counter and inspected Beckett's work. She had the table set for four, a large glass bowl containing a tossed salad was on the bench, along with a plate of sliced French stick, "You ever want to be a cheerleader?"

Beckett shook her head, "No." She turned off the burners, glanced to him in amusement, "Did you?"

Castle pulled a face at her. "Not me." He pointed to the ceiling in the general direction of his daughter's bedroom, "Alexis. You heard she wants to try out for the team?" He mimicked his daughter.

"I heard," Beckett answered, "So?"

"So? You see what they wear? She wants to join a team, why not join mathletes?"

She raised an eyebrow. "This is the man who said this morning he wants to see me in a Playboy Bunny outfit?"

"That's different."

"How? Show my legs, my bits, wear silly ears, effectively be meat, rather than carry pom-poms and be with my friends."

"Okay. You got me. You make me feel .." He paused and breathed in, looked at her eyes, "I knew that one would come back to bite me on the ass."

"A given."

"But it's a compliment as to how beautiful you are."

"Accepted." Beckett confirmed, then seriously asked, "Why can't she do both? Besides, kids try on personalities the way they try on clothes. It's the way that they figure out who they are." She opened a drawer, shuffled tools about. "Be happy she isn't in a Playboy Bunny outfit, Rick." She smiled devilishly and continued to search.

"I am. But the Playboy Bunny would make her a lot of money I guess. It did for my mother." He scratched his head, "What are you looking for?"

"Umm, the thing to get out the spaghetti." Beckett replied. "Her brains will make her money, Castle."

"Spaghetti spoon. Third drawer. Red handle. And yes, her brains will make her money."

She hunted and soon located what she wanted. She plonked the spoon into the middle of a large bowl of steaming pasta. She then fetched the pasta sauce she'd prepared and placed that beside the first bowl.

Castle inspected the spread, "It smells delicious, Honey."

"Mm. Thank you." She pushed both to the middle of the counter then reached for the glass of wine she was half way through.

"Can't wait."

"Well, hail the troops, Castle. Dinner is ready." She took a sip of wine as she surveyed her cooking. She had prepared one of her fondest meals her mother had once cooked her small family. A basic pasta dish. Castle went to the base of the stairs and called out for his mother and daughter.

They found each other in his office, after dinner was eaten and the dishes were done. Martha and Kate had spent a half hour talking sharing a second bottle of wine, while Rick had passed time with his daughter.

After some time alone, Kate came from the bedroom into the office where Castle was seated in one of the leather armchairs with his iPad. He put down the iPad distracted by a pair of long slender legs beneath a short satin nightdress.

"If your intention is to seduce me, it's working perfectly fine," he said as he opened out his arm inviting her to his lap.

She noted he was down to wearing only a t-shirt and boxers.

"Mm. Already did that today, and succeeded. Have Martha and Alexis gone to bed?" She inquired, glancing through the book shelf she saw the lights were off in the living area.

"Both are tucked in. C'mere."

She smiled and softly replied, "I'm here." She sat on his right thigh, slipped her bottom backwards to the gap between him and the arm of the chair then relaxed, resting her body against his, her legs folded.

"Its late." She said.

"Good. We can get on with what we planned earlier."


	71. Chapter 71 (hope this is right)

Sorry for the long delay but life has been hectic and I fit in writing when I can but not as much as I would like. Thank you for the reviews. I honestly get excited about receiving the comments and encouragement. This story is what I would like to read so I'm creating it and hope that you continue to enjoy it.

 **Chapter 71**

The alarm woke them at 6.15 am. Castle blindly found the phone and tapped the snooze, then rolled over to find the feminine body he had totally ravished and then some, for most of the night. That warm bundle of body released a sound of contentment when he wrapped his arm around her. He dragged her body to him, kissed her shoulder.

"More sleep," she mumbled.

"Ten minutes." He agreed.

"Mm." She snuggled in to his body.

 _Ten minutes later…._

Rick slapped the snooze button, then hugged into Kate. "Ten more minutes."

"Mm."

 _Forty minutes later…._

Beckett managed to arrive at work before the Captain, only by a matter of minutes. Castle followed her through the door. They had decided to go into together by the subway and he stopped by a coffee store to buy extremely needed coffees. Before the team arrived, she sat at her desk holding the coffee cup like it was the only sustenance that would keep her alive. She needed to wake up. The bull pen was quiet. The night shift had left but the day shift weren't in.

"How much sleep did we get?" Castle softly asked, nursing the bridge of his nose.

"Not much." She replied just as quietly, using her mouse to wake up the computer. She was sleepy and she looked at him. "I had so much fun." She whispered her confession.

He looked up. "Me too. Best time with you."

"Lose track of time."

"We certainly did last night." He sat back in his chair thinking about their night together. When they hadn't been making love, they'd talked. A midnight snake of cheese, fruit and cracker, washed down with sips of expensive wine, and intimate conversations during which Kate had shared things with him, exposed her desires, what she wanted in the future. She'd been physically affectionate, constantly fondling or caressing him, treating him in a way no other woman ever had. He hadn't wanted it to stop. Had wished the night would last longer.

Naps had been repeatedly interrupted by either of them waking the other to make love.

As the universe had shown the first hints of dawn, she had drifted off to sleep telling him she longed to be with him next time he went on a book tour trip. He thought she'd been on the edge of telling him she loved him, but sleep had taken over.

He was beat this morning but happy. Content. Very content.

He too recognized that Kate had woken as a happy woman. She was weary but she was happy.

Hazel eyes stared at him, bringing him from his thoughts.

"What?" He inquired interested in why she had a soft expression.

She timidly glanced away.

"Tell me." He pressed with a quiet voice and watched her cheeks brighten.

She waved her hand in the negative. "Can't." She whispered. Instead she looked at him and touched over her heart. "Last night." She whispered.

Rick couldn't help but smile, "I'm breaking through huh? More than anyone has before."

Her smile faded but her fingers unconsciously played with the ring that always hung around her neck. It wasn't the right time for her to be without that ring or the watch, but given time, he understood she would one day want what she felt in the presence tense rather than holding on to the past. Her eyes glanced around the bull pen then rested on his blue eyes. She studied him.

"The first night I've ever done that."

Rick gave a nod, fiddled with his coffee cup unable to think up a suitable response, so much in thought he barely hear her whisper.

"It scares me."

His eyes shifted from the cup as she continued.

"It makes me feel things inside."

Speechless, unable to breathe, he waited. She fell silent and turned to face her computer when a couple of detectives stepped out of the elevator.

For several seconds Rick looked at the detectives, suited up and shaved, then returned to his coffee cup.

"Don't be scared of us." He said quietly then looked at her, noting she had paused, "Don't ever be scared of what we have."

"That we will lose it."

Esposito held up a couple of large photos of a man in his mid thirties for Castle and Beckett to inspect. "These were in Jessica's material."

"Mm." Beckett scanned the photos and waited for Esposito to continue.

"He's one of Jessica's subjects," he said. "She calls him 'sam-I-am'."

"Is that because he has a Dr. Seuss fetish?" Castle asked.

Ryan shook his head and took over, "No. It's because he's a SAM, a smart-assed masochist," he explained, "And according to her notes, a SAM pretends he wants to be submissive, but what he actually wants to do is dominate his Mistress, usually with passive-aggression."

Esposito picked up, "Instead of asking for what he wants, he makes a game out of making other people upset so they can be punished."

Beckett looked at Castle in question, "Really? There's people like that?"

Castle gave a nod.

"Only these SAMs can be dangerous." Ryan said, "Sometimes resorting to threats to provoke their response."

Beckett who had picked up a piece of paper left on the corner of her desk, that she read, said, "Listen to this. "He said Mistress Venom was the one who needed to be punished. He said he was going to find her, tie her up and drown her, but in something... sweet, like caramel." She looked to the three men with widened eyes.

"What?" Castle prompted seeing she had an idea.

"I think we've found our way of getting Lady Irena to hand over the client list." She looked to the Captain's office, happened to catch his attention and promptly waved him to come out.

Montgomery wandered out to join the group and viewed the murder board and the photos Ryan pegged to the board of SAM.

Castle filled him in on where they were at, finishing up with the belief that their SAM man had the key to getting them the right to obtain a subpoena. Montgomery quickly read the notes Jessica had left about her SAM client.

Montgomery passed the paper back to Beckett as he said, "Sexual obsession and a description of the crime scene. Sounds like our guy to me."

"Yeah, but we only got a nickname," Esposito replied.

"We have more than a nickname." Montgomery pointed at the photo of the unidentified male, "We have enough to force Lady Irena to turn over her client list." He gave Beckett the nod. "Get Judge Markway on the phone and see if you can get his signature."

"Yes, Sir." Beckett swung in her chair to commence preparation of the paperwork.

Castle said to the group, "Ooh. Sounds like someone's gonna get punished." He stood up. "I'll go make more coffee."

"Great idea." Beckett replied.

Touching on lunch time, the team gathered in the observation room at the Precinct, all of them captivated by the man who waited in the interrogation room. Expensive haircut, expensive sharp suit, manicured nails, a body that was toned by hours in the gym. He oozed education and money and vanity. It was not only his appearance that had them intrigued. It was who he was on their short list of suspects.

Beckett buzzed with anticipation but she didn't make a comment about how she felt, what she thought. She simply and subtly chewed on a piece of gum and observed. Castle sensed her mood.

On the surface, the man who sat in wait appeared to be in control and calm but he unconsciously fiddled with the desk, studied his fingernails, or looked about his immediate surroundings. He stood and commenced to walk the room.

Esposito broke the silence in the viewing room, "William Caraway, aka Sam-I-am. He is the senior vice president at Stewart, Cabot and Sagansky."

Castle raised an eyebrow in surprise as he queried, "The global consulting firm?"

"Mm-hmm." Esposito replied.

"No wonder Lady Irena was protecting his identity." Castle commented and turned his attention to Beckett who took a deep breath of focus. She disposed of the gum in a nearby trash can then commenced to migrate out of the viewing room to the interrogation room.

"Castle, why don't you sit this one out?" She suggested as she commenced to connect the zipper on the leather jacket she wore, "I think Mr Caraway will respond better to a strong... female hand."

"Sure." He replied.

"Let's see what he has to say, shall we?" She promptly zipped up her jacket right up to her neck which caused Castle to smile. The way she had done up the zipper had aroused him. She left the room.

"Shit." He stated, "That was fucking hot what that woman just did."

"Mmm. But that's Beckett you're talking about." Ryan said.

"Yeah. So? She's modelled." He carefully said glancing between the men. They stared at him. "What?" His eyes widened.

"Dude, you touch her man… and she gets hurt…"

"I know Espo. I'm clear on that."

The men turned back to the glass and waited. After a about ten seconds Castle muttered, "Sam-I-am... in a box.."

Beckett stepped into the room and firmly closed the door. She wore her gloves, stood erect her jaw set in a serious matter.

Esposito smirked, "With a fox."

Castle released a growl that morphed into wicked laughter. "Oh geez, guys. We're gonna need some popcorn."

"I'm not missing out on a second of this to go get popcorn." Esposito replied. "Beckett as a Dominatrix?"

Castle cleared his throat, momentarily catapulted back to fun times tied to the bed with Beckett in control.

"I'm sure she'll be good at this," he managed to say.

"Beckett would make an excellent Dominatrix." Esposito said, which caused Castle to turn his head to look at him.

"I'm never going to admit I heard you say that." He pointed at Beckett. "She'll kill you." He looked back into the interrogation room. "But I reckon you might be right, after all, she bosses us around all day long."

The boys snickered.

A step inside the Interrogation room Beckett stopped, stood as tall and erect as she could and stared Caraway down. He didn't so much as acknowledge her which pissed her off just a little. She could make a safe bet the guys were dying to see how she approached this. She firmly ordered, "Sit."

Caraway turned to face her, took her in from head to boot and back up, and with a tone of authority he asked, "First why don't you tell me why the hell I'm here? I got a board meeting –"

"I said sit down... now!" Beckett demanded.

In the viewing room three men snickered.

"Exclamation mark." Castle commented.

"Whoo… Look at her go!" Esposito exclaimed.

"Yeah. Happy it's not directed at me for once." .

They watched Caraway sit upon the chair he had previously vacated.

"Good boy." Beckett firmly praised, as she approached the desk, He was upright, shoulders back, expectant. "Your Mistress would be very proud of you."

Caraway's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Mistress Venom." Beckett said, "Lady Irena's House of Pain." She sat on the chair opposite him, observed him for a moment or two.

"You like to be tied up," she stated. "You like to be spanked, but more than anything, you like to make threats." She stared at him in an intimidating manner.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caraway instantly replied.

Beckett leaned in, "There is no dominatrix-client privilege in New York." She gave him a moment for that to sink into his consciousness. She lowered her voice, "And your Mistress was very thorough in documenting your deepest, darkest desires." She glanced to her notes then looked up at him, "The thing with the matches. How you liked it messy."

"She wrote that down?"

"You sound surprised." Beckett said, "She also wrote how you wanted to turn the tables on her, how you threatened to tie her up and drown her in caramel."

"I-it's fantasy."

"Fantasy…" Castle echoed inside the viewing room. "My fantasies don't include sticky substances." He murmured.

"You know we can hear you." Ryan hinted.

"I know." He replied and closely observed Beckett. "And she's being a tease." He watched her move in a mildly suggestive manner. She'd been the focus of his attention many a time now. The moods, the mannerisms, her voice, her tones and subtext were also ingrained within him now. He knew when she was unhappy, contemplative, playful or when she was being seductive. She was exceptional at it, day and night.

"Excellent management." Ryan remarked.

Inside the interrogation room Beckett continued, "But the fantasies weren't enough, were they? And so, you had to make your dreams come true." She brought a photo from her folder, held it up to show him an image of the crime scene of the deceased woman.

Caraway looked at the photo. His eyes widened, he leaned forward, disgust replacing the shame over his face. "No, that's not possible." He looked at Beckett.

"The more she said no, the more you became obsessed." Beckett said, "You didn't want to be the submissive. You wanted to dominate her, and the ultimate domination is murder."

He shook his head in the negative, retreating from the photo, "No, I swear. I didn't even know she was dead."

"You were very specific in your threats, and that's exactly how we found her." The detective stated. She gave the sheet of photo paper a little shake. "Do you really expect me to believe that this wasn't you?"

Reality set in with the panic that he was being framed, set up, accused of something he didn't do. He wiped his face, flustered. "Well-well, someone must have found out. Someone could've read her notes."

Beckett sat back observing him. She decided to get to the point. "Where were you two nights ago?"

He leaned back in sort of what seemed a decent state of worry.

"Mr Caraway. Where were you?"

The man frowned, and replied with resignation, "I was with my wife. It was our anniversary."

In the viewing room, Rick smiled in disbelief. "What?" He glanced from Beckett to Ryan. "No way." He saw Kate wave her left hand in the air, a signal. "Espo, she wants the wife called."

"I'll get onto it." He turned to leave the viewing room.

"She's gonna keep at him. Wife will kill him when she finds out why Espo has called," Castle commented.

"She will." Ryan agreed.

Castle leaned against the window sill with Ryan closing in closer him.

Beckett continued her questioning, her voice flowing into the viewing room via a small wall speaker, "What did you do with your wife?"

"We had a party. Small group of friends at a place a block from our home."

"Mr Caraway," Beckett tapped at the photo on the table between them and instantly looked at is as she continued, "This is very specific to what Jessica described in her notes."

"Her name was Jessica?" He asked with empathy.

Beckett gave a nod. "Yes. She was engaged and studying. She had a future." She sat back sensing there was no point in pressing this man further. It might have been Caraway's twisted fantasy how the victim had been murdered, but Beckett's gut was telling her he had nothing to do with Jessica's murder. She looked at him as she stood up. "Please excuse me for a moment."

As Beckett stepped in to the corridor, Castle came from the viewing room. They faced each other.

"Good job," he said, and tugged at the zipper of her jacket. "Espo has gone to phone the wife."

"Cool." She pulled the zipper right down undoing the jacket. "I will tell Ryan to cut him loose. He didn't do it."

"Sure?"

"Mm. Gut tells me he's been set up."

"Okay. Ryan is still in there." He pointed at the viewing room door.

Kate glanced about to ensure no one could see or hear them. "Hey Castle?" She whispered and stepped closer.

"Mm?" He looked down at her face his eyes anticipating, expected. Fuck, she was cute when she put on the seduction, when she bit her bottom lip. She had a mischievous look and her eyes glistened as she glanced between his eyes and lips.

"Umm. Do you think we could have lunch at my place?" She spoke only loud enough for him to hear.

His eyes immediately widened as his brain lit up with what she was referring to, and his glanced at the time. "For sure."

She gave him a devilish smile and whispered, "I have an idea." And with that she reached to the door way of the viewing room and said with a commanding voice, "Hey Ryan, could you let him go and meet us at the murder board please."

"Sure, Beckett. He didn't do it, did he?"

She shook her head in the negative.

A few minutes later Castle and Beckett were at her desk waiting for Esposito to get off the phone. When he did finish the call to Mrs Caraway, she said, "His wife confirms it. He was with her at the anniversary party all night." He shook his hand like he'd touched a hot frypan, "Dude, is that man in trouble."

Castle laughed, "Oh yeah." He turned his attention to Beckett, "I wonder what you'd be like as a pissed off girlfriend."

"You wouldn't want to find out." She replied calmly, then gave him a look that caused Esposito to laugh.

"Don't go there, Castle."

As Beckett contemplated the information they had at hand, she planted a look on Esposito that had him retreat, then she picked up the photo and tapped it. "This staging, Castle, it was way too specific to be just a coincidence. Somebody knew." She looked at Castle, waited for him to think.

"Are you suggesting there is a third person that knows his fantasy?" Rick queried, while his brain rattled away for a story that wasn't coming.

Esposito who had leaned against the desk suggested, "Maybe she told someone."

"Or maybe someone had access to the research." Castle said, "Filing cabinet's not Fort Knox. Anyone with access would've read exactly what we read and could use it to throw us off their trail."

Beckett sat up, "Okay." She looked at Esposito, "Can you and Ryan go back to the dungeon. See if any of the girls swap stories after work. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go to the university and see who had access to her research."

Esposito said, "Okay."

"See you back here in a couple of hours." She glanced to Rick silently telling him it was time to go. They both rose from their seats and Kate grabbed the phone and the car keys.


	72. Chapter 72

_Beckett sat up, "Okay." She looked at Esposito, "Can you and Ryan go back to the dungeon. See if any of the girls swap stories after work. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go to the university and see who had access to her research."_

 _Esposito said, "Okay."_

" _See you back here in a couple of hours." She glanced to Rick silently telling him it was time to go. They both rose from their seats and Kate grabbed the phone and the car keys._

 **Chapter 72**

The grunt she expressed as she pulled at her boot turned him on. The way she hopped right out of her right boot, the way her hair bounced and the sound of her laughter made him want to grab her already. The boot was dropped to the floorboards and then she started on the left boot. Same grunt, same two hops and the thump as the boot hit the floor. An unusual squeal of triumph escaped her once the socks were tossed near the boots. Rick kept up. The shoes were long gone, socks were off his feet. Kate was in a rush to get to the bedroom and Rick was nipping at her heels. There was no clumsiness today. In the bedroom, she stopped and spun about to face Rick who swung on the door frame in to the room. She briskly pushed her jeans down and they were kicked across the floor. Rick was out of his clothing by the time he stopped before his naked girlfriend. They breathed heavily. His hand raised to the side of her head and combed softly through her hair.

Then without a word they crashed, kissing frantically. Rick felt her body tremble, felt her hands use his shoulders to support herself. His hands blindly found her waist, urged her backwards to the bed and lowered with her. Throaty squeaks escaped her. She opened her body to accept him.

They took a brief break, too short of breath to keep up the pace.

"We gotta be quick," she whispered and raised her head to kiss him more.

Moments later they paused again. Rick smiled through the heavy breathing and scanned her face, "We are worse than rabbits."

She laughed, looking down their bodies to see Rick was primed for her. "Just don't go away without me again."

"But why? I'm enjoying the make up lost time sex we're having." He swept her hair back, looked into her eyes and glanced down as he lowered his body.

"Oh God." He whispered, closing his eyes. Beckett gasped, gripped his shoulders. They tenderly kissed. Softened sounds came from Beckett when she lulled her head, exposing her neck enabling Castle to cast a path of gentle kisses over her jaw and throat. Her eyelids fluttered at which moment he knew she was right into them, that she was submissively his for the next few minutes.

"Faster," she whispered in a plea.

"Can I go deeper first?" He asked giving pause to his task, "I've barely star-"

"Both." She impatiently growled, then rotated her hips to accommodate his body. She glanced down to their joining, a smile forming. She demanded. "Harder, Castle."

"Faster, deeper, harder." He groaned. "I'm barely in and trying my hardest not to shoot too soon. Now these demands. You wound me up with all your …'

She gripped at his shoulder blades, pulled him to her mouth, kissed him and his body instantly arched as he began to thrust his pelvis.

"Harder," she gasped into his mouth.

He tugged back, looked in her eyes. "Just shut up and let me fuck you…." He smothered her mouth but obeyed all her commands.

 _Precinct 90 odd minutes later ….._

"You know," Castle casually said to Beckett who was making every effort to complete her file notes, "I've been thinking."

Taking her eyes from the monitor, she glanced to him, momentarily picturing him a little while back totally naked. His hair was still messed up but she wasn't going to tell him because it looked cute and she was the one who had done it. "Mm? You can think already?"

"Haha."

"Go on. Tell me."

"You are morally challenged if your murder alibi is a blackmailing scheme." He leaned closer and whispered, "And swipe that little look off you face."

"Shut up," she hissed then gave him a playful sideways glance she knew would turn him on. She then responded to his first comment. "If Matt's telling the truth, then we have no motive."

Castle saw Ryan and Esposito exit the elevator. "The boys are back. I wonder what they got up to for lunch."

Kate smirked, "I bet it wasn't what we did."

"Never know," Castle responded, then smiled, "Well, hello, gentleman. How was your trip to the dungeon?"

Ryan grinned, "Well, we learned that Esposito is not very good with laces."

Esposito said, "There were a lot of laces - I-I loosened 'em for you."

"Yeah, sure, Espo."

"True. I did." Esposito pulled up a chair. "Well, the tour of Irena's House of Pain was interesting." He glanced between Beckett and Castle. His brow furrowed.

"It was eye opening for Beckett, when we went there," Castle commented then waited for Beckett to react but all he got was the silent stare which was satisfactory but then he couldn't help but add, "Whips, leather. She was beside herself."

Ryan pointed at Castle, catching onto his comment, and seemingly oblivious to Kate's expression, "Yeah, well, one of the ladies spanked Espo with a riding crop."

Espo, a little coyly defended, "Only because I couldn't untie the straps on those boots. Not because I wanted her to."

"I could do it. You needed to be faster," Ryan said to Esposito.

"Faster," Kate echoed staring at Castle, whose eyes widened.

Ryan continued. "Mm. Apparently, he needed to be faster unstrapping boots."

Beckett raised an eyebrow as she innocently and curiously queried, "She spanked you for not being fast enough?" She cast her eyes on Esposito who nervously swallowed then shifted her gaze to her partner.

"She did." Esposito shakily replied.

"Mmm. How about it? Spanked for not being fast enough, Ricky." She articulated every word perfectly.

"Is, uh, is –" Espo glanced between Beckett and Castle. He pointed at Castle. "You're right Dude. She would make a good dominatrix."

"Oh yes. She would." Castle calmly agreed pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed. "I'm sure Detective Beckett would spank me if she had half a chance."

Beckett sat up and cleared her throat, "The case guys." She reminded studying her boyfriend who seemed calm but was under duress. Right where she wanted him. In a tight spot of bother. "So, did you find out whether Mistress Venom ever shared one client's fetishes to another client?"

"None of the girls admitted to Jessica sharing any of her client secrets with them." Ryan replied. "We were told that Lady Irena beats confidentiality rules into their heads. According to the ladies, Mistress Venom wasn't stupid."

Esposito said, "Oh, one of 'em thought that she might have been seeing clients outside of the dungeon, which might explain the hole in our timeline."

Ryan added, "Uh huh, and none of the girls claim that they remember Jessica talking about any of her clients. But I think we might have an explanation as to where she was between the time she left work and when she was killed. Uh, Mistress Scorpion thinks that Jessica might have been working off the books."

"So, you didn't delve any deeper …?" Beckett maintained a serious expression but she stared at her lover who was reacting in subtle manners only she noticed, while internally, she pissed herself in amusement. "Guys?"

"Umm. They had nothing.. other than that." Ryan replied distracted by Castle who had gone into a sudden coughing fit.

"You okay, writer boy?" Espo asked.

Rick nodded his head, overcame the coughing and cleared his throat. Calmer, he threw Beckett a look that she clearly understood as her cheeks immediately flared pink.

"What did you guys find at Hudson University?"

Beckett shifted her gaze to Espo who had queried them, and sorted out her thoughts. "Um. Well, one of the students, Kelly?"

"Mm," Espo acknowledged with a nod.

"Yeah, well, she was in Westchester with her folks and her alibi was proved." Beckett was a little distracted by Castle who fidgeted.

"Jessica pulled out of the fellowship," Castle continued.

"Yes," Beckett confirmed, "And Matt showed us an e-mail Jessica sent that she cc'd Matt in on, with her withdrawal."

Castle said, "But if he was telling the truth, Beckett, then where's all the research she brought back  
to her apartment? Given her concerns for privacy, she wouldn't just throw it away. And we know she didn't take it back to the university."

Beckett thought about it, then suggested, "Well, maybe we missed something. Maybe she hid it somewhere. Or maybe Matt is lying about the research."

"I guess we have another road trip." Castle commented and slowly stood up as Beckett did. He also looked at the time. Mid-afternoon and he was ready to crash for a couple of hours. All the sex had him mellowed out, famished for food and tired.

Castle thanked any angels within his orbit for making their journey to Jessica's apartment quick and non-eventful. As she had said she would, Jessica's house mate and best friend, was home when the detectives rapped on the door. The team searched Jessica's bedroom and personal space for the research notes to no avail. Not even a flash drive contained any information. A stack of paperwork and it had completely gone astray.

However, their efforts were not all in vain. Danielle told Beckett she had noticed something different, something a little out of place.

When she had unloaded the dishwasher, Danielle had found a wine glass with a lipstick stain on it. She pointed out it wasn't Jessica's usual shade, and it wasn't one of her own lipsticks. Evidently, she had put the glassware aside to hand-wash it later by hand.

On their drive back to the Precinct the boys swung by the House to bring in Lady Irena for a chat.

The team stared at the woman in the interrogation box. She had that effect on the men, Beckett didn't get. Each of them were enchanted and afraid at the same time. Beckett on the other hand saw through the façade of the woman who dominated others to that of a woman of law. It was something she was used to. Their formative career years conditioned them to be lawyers, just like her mother had been.

"Who would have known that a simple wine glass could blow this case wide open." Castle stated unable to take his eyes from the woman. "And she is attractive and scary."

Beckett laughed then said to the boys, "And you know what tickled Castle the most?"

Castle's eyebrows shot up. "Tickled? Humphh."

Beckett pressed on. "The lipstick was the color of Mistress Red."

Ryan pointed into the interrogation room where Lady Irena was waiting at the desk. "Same color?"

"Yes." Beckett answered. "Well, the reason we are here is to make her confess. Here I go. Alone, Castle."

"I'm not going in there." Rick released an evil laugh, "I cannot wait to see Lady Irena up against Lady Beckett in the interrogation ring, I mean room." He glanced at Beckett, and said softer, "I meant room."

"Sure you did." Beckett shot back as she commenced to back out of the viewing room. But, she stopped and turned about, "And we-", She waved her hand between him and herself a couple of times, "Will have a talk about Lady Beckett, later."

"Sure, Baby." Castle dismissively replied and turned about to look through the glass.

"Baby?" Esposito hissed. Beckett had shot out the door.

"You called her Baby?" Ryan asked.

"Well, slip of the tongue. It's easier to call the ladies a term of endearment than to remember their names." He flippantly answered then waited for one of the guys to challenge him on that.

Ryan waved him off, "Of course, the celebrity bachelor with all the beautiful women hanging off him."

"Someone has to do it for the team. Its tough." He replied and calmly leaned against the window sill when Beckett closed the door once she had entered the interrogation box. It was the truth. It was easier to use a term of endearment than to remember a name in a sea of women his manager encouraged him to socialize with. All to maintain a façade. He gave some thought to his reputation as a player, to how it affected Kate at times. He'd seen her reaction when women tried to hit on him or handed him their phone number. Those feelings she harbored. The insecurities he caused, he didn't like. It had caused him to refuse to be seen in public with any woman his publisher wanted him to. It was also on the condition that Beckett be his plus one.

She sat opposite the ex-lawyer, almost mirroring the older woman's expression and position. She remained silent for a bit while she made herself comfortable.

"Should have been an actress." Castle muttered from the other side of the glass.

"Never know when she's kidding … she is quite the actress." Ryan agreed.

In the box, Beckett drew in cool air coming from the overhead air conditioning vent. "Did you know," She begun, "That lip prints are a lot like fingerprints? No two are exactly alike." Hazel eyes scanned the woman's face in search of the slightest changes, muscle twitches.

"Hmm." Lady Irena responded in thought.

Beckett showed Lady Irena an 8 x 10 inch photo of a lip stick stain on a wine glass, noting she didn't get much of a reaction from the ex-lawyer. She continued. "We found this on a wine glass in Jessica's apartment. What do you think we'll find when we compare it to your lips?"

Lady Irena sighed with impatience, "That stain could've been there for months."

"But it wasn't," Beckett calmly replied, "We checked with your car service. They said they dropped you off at 9:00 pm in front of Jessica's place the night she was killed." Beckett leaned on the desk, "You were the last one to see her alive. What happened that night?"

"Detective, at this time, I'm exercising my right to legal counsel. I won't be answering any further questions."

Beckett closed her folder, "Okay. A uniform will be here in a minute or so." She stood up, gave Irena a second to rethink her request. Nothing happened. She walked from the room.

Beckett met the rest of her team outside the box and they gathered together. She quietly said, "As you heard, she's lawyering up. Ryan, can you organize that in a second please?"

"Sure."

"What did they find at Jessica's apartment after we left?"

Esposito replied, "They found the crime scene. It seems Irena was pretty good at cleaning up after herself. There was no trace or blood evidence, but the area around Jessica's bedside table lit up like a Christmas tree. It'd been scrubbed down with bleach."

Beckett said, "That's why we didn't find Jessica's research. Irena got rid of it all."

Ryan said, "Yeah, but she didn't quite clean everything. Once CSU stripped the bed, the swab test revealed dried saliva in one of her pillows from her screams as she was smothered."

"Looks like she'd do anything to protect her business, even kill." Castle commented.

"All right, lawyer or not, let's book her." Beckett ordered.

Ryan said, "Let's do it.

Esposito said, "Then we can go home."

Rick clapped his hands. "Let's get on with it then."


	73. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73**

The sun was long gone when they rode the subway home to Castle's apartment just over an hour later. They didn't care if they were seen together, because they were always at each other's side anyway and others just accepted it. They skipped the grocery store to go directly home. Beckett made a beeline to his bedroom where she promptly extracted herself out of her boots and clothing. She dressed in yoga pants and one of Rick's t-shirts. By the time she returned to the living room he was on the couch with a beer in his hand. There was another bottle on the coffee table, opened and waiting for Beckett.

She picked up the bottle and clinked it with Rick's.

"Cheers." They simultaneously said. She plopped herself onto the couch beside Castle, folding her legs beneath her.

"You look comfy." He commented.

"I am. Also beat." She had a swig of the beer.

"You look tired," Castle confirmed but smirked with a thought.

"What?"

"Enough sex?" He inquired.

She smiled, "Enough with the sex." But she leaned in to give him a kiss.

"C'mere." He ordered and immediately she came in close and rested against his body. He put his left arm over her shoulders and held her. "No one's home. We have the place to ourselves."

"Where are they?"

"Not sure. They will be home for dinner so I will start preparing that in a bit." He pressed his lips to the side of her head, "Just want five minutes with you."

"That's really sweet, Castle. And we've been together all day."

He laughed. "But you now have my undivided attention."

"Same." She snuggled into him, "My undivided attention."

Castle cooked a pasta sauce for dinner while he had time alone. Time to be the master in his kitchen. It was only when he was boiling the noodles that his mother arrived home and she entered the loft without the usual fanfare as he requested in a text both his daughter and mother had received.

Martha inspected what he had prepared, and observed he didn't seem to be interested in his efforts, "Are you straining those noodles or just my patience?"

"Hmm?" Castle looked between the pot of noodles and his mother again who had taken a spoon tip of sauce from the pot. "Oh, I'm... sorry. Just... This case. I keep thinking that I'm missing something."

"Yeah, me, too." She tasted the food. "Salt. Where is your girlfriend?"

"Napping."

"Shame, because she's a lovely cook." She poured salt, a lot of salt into the sauce then stirred it.

"Whoa. W-whoa." He exhaled in frustration. "Ma! Doh. Can you die from sodium poisoning?"

"Richard. For …." Martha tasted a bit of sauce, screwed up her nose, "Ooh. You have a point."

Rick waved his daughter over when he caught sight of her closing the door. She gave him a questioning look. He pointed at the sofa. She followed his direction then nodded with acknowledgement. At the kitchen counter she took in what was going on.

"Hey, that smells good," she commented but Castle immediately shook his head and mouthed not to eat.

"But..." Alexis tried to figure out her father's communication, "I already ate?"

"Oh, no." Martha said.

"So, did you and Ashley do cheerleading practice?" Castle inquired.

"Uh, no. Turns out, cheerleading conflicts with my fencing schedule, my violin lessons and French Club. Cheerleading is more of a lifestyle, and as much as I like to visit, it's not really a place I'd like to live."

Martha lightly touched her son's shoulders. "I told you she'd figure it out."

"Well, we both learned a valuable lesson today." Castle said, "You learned that you can expand your horizons and grow. I learned that if that involves short skirts and boys, I'm not gonna like it."

Alexis replied, "Fair enough."

Martha said, "Fine. Now that you've both learned your lessons, how about starting on something else?"

Castle said, "I think we're done. We're gonna need a fire hose to clean this up."

"Someone else cleans up." Martha said as she commenced to leave the kitchen.

Rick paused and repeated mostly to himself, "Clean up. Shit. How didn't I…" He turned off the stove top, rushed out of the kitchen to the living area. Hands to the back of the couch he leaned over to find Beckett who was still asleep. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how she slept through the noise of his family. Cautiously and very gently he touched her shoulder using his fingertips, "Honey?"

"What is it, Castle?"

His hand was quickly retracted. Nope, she didn't sleep through their noise. "Um. Who washed the pillowcase?"

Beckett opened her eyes, blinked, bewildered, "What?"

Castle swept strands of hair from her eyes. "God you're cute." With a bit of a jiggle, he raised a hand and pointed towards his bedroom as he whispered, "Do you think-"

"Castle." She cut in. She wriggled to her back so she faced him better. She reached for his forearm to lower it. "No. We already done that. Pillowcase?"

He shot her a look of frustration. She shot him back her look.

"Okay." He agreed in resignation. "Well, Esposito said earlier that CSU didn't find anything until they stripped the bed."

"Keep going."

"Well, doesn't that mean there was saliva on the pillow, but not on the pillowcase?" He fell silent and waited.

Beckett thought about it, then her eyes brightened. "Oh my God. You're right." She slumped her head against the cushion, "Someone washed the fucking pillowcase."

"Yes."

"But hang on, Babe." She sat up. "The washer-dryer cycle would've taken at least an hour. I go to a yoga class when-"

Castle nodded, "Yes. At which point, the roommate would've been home."

"Irena couldn't have gotten out in time."

"No," he agreed, "Only one person could've cleaned the apartment."

"Shit." She breathed out, long and hard in thought, "Its late, Castle," she groaned. "Everyone's home." Heels of her hands rubbed her eyes. "Fuck. I should…"

"Its late and she has no idea we're on to her." He checked his watch, then patted the back of the couch, "Yep. We'll sort it out in the morning. You hungry?" The question was rhetorical. He knew she was hungry solely by her choice of words.

She looked to him, and nodded, "A little."

"Don't eat the pasta," he whispered.

She looked in the general direction the kitchen where Martha was cleaning up. "Is it that bad?"

"Not if you like salty food."

"Oh." She screwed up her nose in distaste, "I might skip. I thought you cooked." She whispered.

"Mother decided to join in."

"Oh." Beckett watched as Martha gave up the cleaning. She quietly left the kitchen and headed towards the stairs. "Castle?"

"Mm?"

"Your Mom." She gave a nod and instantly Rick followed her cue.

"Oh yeah. Exit left of the stage."

A laugh escaped her. "I'll make myself something." She hopped off the couch.

"I have an avocado for you." He suggested as he sidled up to her on their way to the kitchen. An arm dropped over her shoulders and he brought her close, gave the side of her head a kiss. "You stay here tonight and we'll book em tomorrow."

"It will give me time to get my evidence together." She replied glancing to the ceiling when thumping came from it.

"Alexis running to the bathroom."

"Oh."

"May I suggest avocado on toast?"

The lips pressed together in thought. "You know, I'm not that hungry, Rick. I might," She waved an arm towards the bedroom. "Head off to bed. Maybe read a book."

"Okay. I will finish up in the kitchen and meet you there."

She smiled, a hint of a secret showing in her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, Castle."

"Not nothing Castle. What?"

"I will see you in the bedroom writer boy." She patted his chest with her palm, kissed his left cheek then sauntered off towards the office doorway. Half way across the room she paused, looked back over her left shoulder with a seductive smile then kept on going.

He saw everything and pointed when he noticed she was going to trip in to the armchair. "Watch it, Baby."

She spun back, and destabilized her balance as she stepped to avoid the furniture. "Whoops!" A giggle escaped her. A hand sought the arm of the chair to rescue her balance.

"You're gonna kill me." He called after her and she hopped into the office. "Sexy and clumsy."

"Hurry, Castle." She enticed.

When he couldn't see her anymore, Castle resumed tidying up the kitchen for the night. He allowed her about 10 minutes to have her nightly shower and to prepare for bed. The house lights were turned off and he retired to the bedroom, comfortable the home was secure and his women were all in their respective beds. The moment after he closed the door of the bedroom, he looked up to see Beckett sitting in the arm chair on her side of the bed.

"Holy fuck!" He stopped dead. She rose from the chair. His eyes widened. "You did that in ten minutes? Striking." He'd last seen Kate wearing one of his shirts, yoga pants and hair tied up not that long ago. "Impressive."

She laughed. "That's not the reaction I was anticipating, but, yes, I did."

"Geezus." He soaked in the sight of the long legged woman. She was attired in long black boots. A one piece of lingerie in black lace. She'd straightened her shoulder length hair and her make up was equal to that, if not better than Lady Irena's. The position she held wasn't much different to when she was about to make an arrest.

From her fingers dangled two pairs of Police issue cuffs. It turned him on.

"Mmm. Very nice indeed." He glanced at his watch, pressed his lips together. He gave the watch a light tap as he hinted. "But it's kinda gettin' late to be getting out the cuffs."

"What?" Beckett dropped her pose. She peered down her own body in what seemed like pure disbelief.

It took everything he had not to laugh at her disappointment, to remain supposedly serious.

"I dress up like this and you want to go to sleep?"

"Well, yeah." He nodded. Teasing her was one of his favorite things to do.

The large eyes had darkened as she ordered with distinctive Police authority. "Take off your clothes."

"Whoa." He reacted slowly, as though he was really thinking through his choices. With reluctance, he kicked off his shoes, left then right. She gave the cuffs a bit of a rattle, drawing his attention to him.

"Step it up, Ricky."

He grunted. "What had you got planned, Katie?"

She suppressed a smirked, barely. "I'm cuffing you to the bed."

"Oh. Kinky." He threw his jeans to the chair on his side of the bed. Socks followed.

"Mm." She agreed. "Then we will let Lady Beckett come out to play."

"Mm." A grunt of wariness followed. "I had a feeling that comment was gonna come back to bite me on the ass." He kept his eyes on the black lingerie.

The right eyebrow shot up in interest. "Only your ass?"

"You have somewhere else in mind?" He lifted off his t-shirt and threw it to the pile. He was down to his boxers and glancing down he saw it was blatantly obvious he was sexually aroused by his damn hot partner in her devilishly black clothing.

"You will have to wait and see."

"How did you get those boots here?"

"Sneaked them in. They've been here a few days."

"Well that was a surprise. Where were they?" He struggled to think of a place she had hidden them.

"Never you mind."

"They go all the way…." He cleared his throat. "They go for a long way."

"They do. Good for winter with my black jeans." Her expression was of arrogance, that she'd got away with something which was a rare thing. He didn't miss much.

He saw her take a sneaky glance of his groin, saw the slight curve of her lips. Somehow she managed to restrain herself, to not break her role play.

"You can take off the rest." He stated as he flicked the elastic waist of his silk boxer shorts.

"Cocky." She commented.

"Always."

"I mean your boxers."

Another glance at his boxers to see Foghorn was printed on the blue material. He gave her a quirky smile. "My girlfriend bought me these. Got a Coyote pair too."

"I'll take them off you."

"You have to if you want your present. Your present is inside them."

"Present?"

"Perhaps more a treat, so long as you don't bite it too hard."

A burst of laughter was suppressed with a harsh clamp on the bottom lip. That tickled her. Attempts to play a dominant were a failure. Totally adorable.

Then she pointed at the bed.

"Alright. On the bed, supine." She commanded, quite successfully.

He assessed the bed, the cuffs. "I would prefer prone."

"Prone?"

"I don't want to watch."

"Supine." She replied. "On the bed now."

Rick had a plan. She was looking too damn hot for him to be restrained. Exhibiting reluctance and lack of interest even if his body was responding how Kate had expected, he made his way to the bed.

"Middle of the bed." Beckett ordered.

On his back, he waited. Confident her routine was going to plan, Beckett straddled Castle and cuff in her right hand. The moment she reached for his right arm he snatched the moment.

In a split second, he flipped them.

Kate squealed in surprise.

Inside seconds, he was dominant, her wrists were cuffed and he had her pinned to the bed.

"There we go," he said with a lot of satisfaction. "Master Castle is in the house." He smiled down at her wide eyes and brushed hair out of her eyes.

"How did you do that?" She struggled against the cuffs, against his weight.

"My signature move, Baby." He grinned. "You are in so much trouble."

"Fuck." He mumbled, blindly reaching for the phone. He hit the snooze. "Frigging time to get up already."

"No." She groaned in total denial.

"Snooze." He flopped his head back down to the pillow. "Like fucking groundhog day."

"More tired today," she muttered.

Rick rolled over towards Kate, his eyes closed, "Ten more minutes." As usual, he drew the body to him, kissed her bare shoulder, felt his way down her ribs, over her pelvis. "Still naked." He muttered, "Sweet."

Her fingers clamped over his hand, putting the brakes on his destination, and she growled.

"Baby." He barely whispered.

"Sleep."

 _Half hour later . . ._

"Da-aadd?" His daughter yelled.

Rick's eyes opened. "Shit."

"Beckett!"

He lifted his head, concerned his daughter was about to enter the bedroom. The room scattered with evidence of their middle of the night affairs. Alexis knew the rules. Understood if a girlfriend stayed over the bedroom was off limits until he signaled she could enter.

"Dad! Are you awake?"

"Coming Alexis." He took a deep breath. "Fuck, I'm already knackered." His hand gave Beckett's hip a squeeze hard enough to wake her. She didn't respond. "Beckett. You need to wake up."

"No."

"We've slept in."

"How long?"

"Umm. Almost a half hour."

Beckett sat up. She grabbed her phone to check the time. "Fuck. Gotta go."

She was gone directly to the bathroom. Rick flopped back down a hand resting to his chest. He didn't have to rush off to the Precinct. Seconds later Beckett flew back into the bedroom. She collected the long black boots, threw them on the bed and hissed.

"Hide them."

He lifted his head, peered at the boots an eyebrow raised, then looked at her naked, beautifully bare girlfriend, "Why don't you re-hide them wherever it was you hid them."

Kate pointed firmly in the general direction of the living room as she whispered assertively, "Do you want your teenage daughter scarred for life?"

He laughed out loud. "Oh baby, I've already scarred her enough for life. I will hide them, and the cuffs, and the lingerie. Get in the shower."

She gave a grunt of objection, but seeing what the time was, she rushed off to the bathroom to shower.


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74**

It was an hour later they found themselves in the meeting room of the bullpen rifling through Jessica's notes with a new approach to the case, a new of view. They had a subject and now her notes and research made more sense. They knew who she was writing about.

Between them on the desk sat two empty cups of coffee and a torn paper bag. Esposito walked in the room. Noticed the bag and reached for it.

"Too late Espo." Castle intercepted, "Miss Beckett ate the lot."

"Whoa." He pulled his arm back, studied Beckett who continued to work.

"Don't listen to him, Xavy. He brought in two bear claws and gave me one."

"Four and you ate two. You said you were starving."

She lifted her eyes from the paper to his blue eyes, "That's because I didn't get dinner last night."

"What? All the local take outs were closed, Beckett?" Esposito asked with a cheeky smile. Rick laughed.

"You've seen her fridge too?" Castle casually inquired, not making too much of an issue of it and he paused his work for a moment to gaze over her face.

"I have. This woman doesn't cook."

"She does cook." The woman responded. "I also had a hectic exercise regime. Left me spent."

"With your personal trainer?" Rick cleared his throat. Waited for the bait to be bitten.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

He sat up, glance to Esposito who was enjoying the banter way too much, "What I would like to know, Beckett is, whether you took the walk of shame this morning, huh?" He tapped the pile of paper in front of him, "This case? Don't know about the rest of you, but it's made me so horny."

"Oh, please." Beckett pretended to dry reach. "Yuk!"

"I'm with you, Castle." Esposito said with a snicker watching Beckett's award winning performance.

Beckett sat back on the chair and sized up her companions, one of which she'd kept company with, had engaged in hours of sexual activity with during the night. Their energy levels were running on fumes. Needed sleep. Her appetite for Castle had become an obsession during the case. She'd never had so much fun with a man as she was experiencing this week. She'd never felt such strong feelings for a man as she was experiencing this week.

"Castle," she quietly said, requesting he not become crude, even though she knew he would refrain from being so. He was the one who demanded they keep their relationship a secret because he was the one who had the most to lose.

"Hey, Beckett, don't forget we have the target training tomorrow morning." Espo said as he went to leave the room.

Rick, suddenly interested, sat up. "Target training?"

"Yeah. All teams required. We have to be at the range by seven thirty." Beckett replied.

"And when were you going to tell me?"

"You're not a cop." She stated.

"But his name is on the list," Esposito replied directing his eyes to Beckett and giving her an odd look. "You put his name on the list."

"Did I? Must have been a moment of weakness."

"I'll be there. Seven thirty." Castle declared, "Any chance to shoot a gun. More research." He smiled.

Beckett thought about that. She thought about the way he'd knocked her off her guard last night. On top of him, prepared to give him one helluva time for a while. And then, in a minuscule second, she'd been spun over. Not only had she found herself in a compromising position, it was one that had disabled her. Subdued her. The unexpected maneuver had contained technique and training.

Once Esposito was out of hearing range she leaned in.

"Castle?"

He stopped and looked up to her face, tilted his head and frowned, "Please don't tell me you want more…" He glanced about to ensure they were safe then whispered, "Sex?" He paused then pointed over his shoulder, "I guess we could use the cleaners closet."

"Castle," she hissed. "No."

"Then what is it? No one can hear us so talk." He said aware her back was to the bull pen.

"How did you get me into submission like that last night? Where did you learn that?"

"Arrr… freaked you out a little huh?"

"I wasn't expecting you to practice such technique on me. Espo? Yes. Castle? No. That was specialised." She crossed her legs and calmly asked again, "Where did you learn that?"

"I was taught it during research for a Storm novel. You know I like it to be real in my stories. Just had the opportunity last night and tried it. On you. Successfully. Why didn't you mention the range practice?"

"Not a priority to me. But you should come as you are my partner. But it's time when you're with Alexis."

"She has school."

"Cool. Ok. Let's get this case wrapped up. We have what we need to arrest her."

By midday the case was wrapped up with the murderer arrested and the team were at the Precinct to finish up their paper work. For once Rick was helping with paperwork, by mainly dictating to Beckett who was typing up her report for the DA's office. He paused to scan Jessica's research.

"Jessica and Danielle knew each other for approximately eight years and had lived together for three."

Beckett typed the details.

"So, you've closed the case." The Captain asked from his office.

Castle turned about and Beckett ceased to type.

"We arrested the housemate, Jessica's best friend." Beckett said when Montgomery came from his office. He'd just finished up an hour long telephone conference and appeared weary. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Did she confess?"

"Eventually. It took a bit of persuasion." She answered.

"We told her," Castle said, "That in her research, Jessica described being in a dysfunctional relationship, that she was scared to leave because the other person had become so dangerously codependent."

Beckett said, "At first we thought it was her boyfriend Tyler. But it wasn't."

"Jessica's fellow student dropped off Jessica's research. Danielle read all the things that she wrote about her." Castle said, "Jessica termed Danielle as Subject 'b'. Said she showed all the signs of being a masochist, completely dependent for her sense of self."

"We know Danielle read the files." Beckett continued, "That's why she staged Jessica's body that way."

"And then she got rid of all the research." Castle added, "And Danielle was the only one who had time to clean up after herself."

"What happened between them?" Montgomery asked.

"Danielle was very close to Jessica, Captain. She said she was her everything, that they were family. Unfortunately, Jessica didn't feel the same way and wrote awful things about her that Danielle read. She said she pushed Jessica who fell. Her head hit the table. She started to scream. She said-she said she hated Danielle! Danielle put a pillow over her head and suffocated her."

"She didn't mean to kill Jessica, just wanted her to stop screaming." Castle added.

"In the end, Castle was right. The murder was a crime of passion." Beckett said, "The cuffs, the caramel, were all just theater to throw us off."

"I can't help but think, Beckett, that if Matt hadn't copied Jessica's research, Danielle never would've read it, and none of this would have happened."

"I agree, Castle."

"Well," Montgomery said, "Now he won't get his fellowship or his degree. What about Lady Irena? What was she doing at the apartment?"

"Some of the girls thought that Jessica was working off the books, Captain, so, Irena dropped by to tell her to knock it off."

Castle added, "They had a glass of wine, and she left. She just did it on the wrong night."

"Yeah, okay, but why'd she give you such a hard time, then?"

Beckett smirked, "That's easy. She's a lawyer."

"And a dominatrix." Castle commented.

They were all distracted from their conversation when they saw Ryan stand up from behind his desk. He gave a wave to a pretty woman in a coat and carrying a purse, who exited the elevator in search of someone. He met the blond woman at the edge of the bullpen and gave her a kiss. "Hey. You made it."

Seeing the close proximity Ryan and the woman maintained, Esposito joined Montgomery, Castle and Beckett. They were all a bit surprised by Ryan's actions.

Castle muttered, so only Beckett would hear, "Perhaps this is the lady who gifted Ryan the tie."

Esposito elbowed him, "Good call, Dude."

"He likes her." The writer commented.

Ryan, who was beyond a little flustered and nervous, approached his team with the woman's hand in his, "Guys, uh, I want you to meet... Jenny." He smiled.

"Hi." She timidly greeted.

Beckett smiled, "Welcome. We've heard wonderful things about you."

"Oh, the same goes for all of you." Jenny replied, "I-I feel like I know you guys already." She addressed Beckett. "You are so much prettier than your picture in Cosmo." Shen then looked to Castle. "Kevin gave me his copy of Heat Wave. I could not put it down." She turned to Esposito. "And thanks for being such a great partner. You know, make sure you keep him safe out there."

Esposito said, "You got it."

Ryan smiled, tugged on Jenny's hand, "We have a movie to catch. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Beckett said, "You guys have a great time."

Ryan grabbed his jacket and phone from his desk then left with Jenny.

"Damn. If I had a girl like that, I might be whipped by her, too." Espo commented.

"Now we know why he didn't bring her around sooner." Rick commented.

Beckett said, "So the two of you don't act like idiots around her?"

"No, so we wouldn't try to steal her from him." Espo replied.

Castle turned to Beckett, "So what about this imaginary boyfriend of yours? Are we gonna see him around here or is he at home tied to a bed?"

Beckett couldn't help the grin that spread over her face, "What's the matter, Ricky? You jealous?" She started towards her desk in a slow swaying steps, waiting for him to react.

Castle laughed, "No. You only get to punish him at night. You punish me all day."

"Well, you deserve it." She replied unaware Esposito had retreated to his desk to prepare for home.

Castle followed Beckett, grabbed his sunglasses as he asked, "What did I do to you?"

Beckett replied, "Let's just start with the first day we met…"

"You mean the night we met." He corrected as he grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. "I met you in the evening."

She smiled, amused. "I arrested you."

"Yes, you did. Any opportunity to get cuffs on me."

"In your dreams."

"Dreams do come true." He replied, "Would you join me for a burger at Remy's? A shake?"

"So long as you're going to behave." She retrieved her bag from the desk drawer. She followed Rick to the elevator lobby to wait for it to return. Rick slapped the button a few times, keen to get out of the bull pen.

When the doors closed and they were alone in the elevator, side by side facing the door, Rick casually stated, "It was the best night of my life."

Beckett thought about what he said, and the realization of the subtext had a smile blossom over her face. "I think, Castle, that the best night was our first date night." Unconsciously, she bit her lip and using her right index finger she twirled her hair.

"Agree. For me it was the moment I met you."

"That's cute, Castle. I wanna kiss you."

"Mm. I know. Plenty of time for that later."

The doors opened to the ground floor and they stepped out of the elevator. He politely pulled her to a stop in the lobby then spoke quietly so others didn't hear them.

"Mine or yours?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I have clothes at your place. School night."

"Good call." They continued to walk to the entrance.

"Let's skip Remy's, Castle. I'm beat."

"Same, but aren't you hungry? You've barely eaten today."

"I'm okay." She stopped on the sidewalk, faced him. "Subway or cab?"

"Walk a couple of blocks and we'll grab a cab."

They walked. Two blocks later Rick pointed towards a cab pulled over with someone climbing out.

"Grab it." Beckett responded and lunged forward into a jog to catch the open door of the vehicle. Right behind her, Castle opened the front door and leaned in to speak to the driver.

With confirmation the cab was available they bundled into the rear of the vehicle. As soon as the car was on the go, Beckett homed in on Castle, snuggled into his left arm. He took a hold of her hands.

"You're cold." He stated.

"A little. Order pizza, Rick. I'm starving."

"You said you weren't hungry." He replied as he flipped his phone over. "I'll order from the one near my place."

"Yes. The usual please. Extra cheese."

He tapped on his iPhone, the car rumbled forward dashing in between traffic, and seconds later he slipped the phone into his coat pocket. "Ordered." He stated and gave her hand a squeeze. Don't know whether I'm more tired or hungry."

"Hungry." Kate replied. "Very hungry."

"Famished?"

"Starving." She confirmed.

At 7.30 pm, Martha unlocked the doorway to the loft. The scent of pizza and cheese caused her stomach to growl. Snoring caused her to cringe even if it was familiar. She closed the door softly, then turned about and walked towards the living area where the rumbling emanated. It was on the couch she found the source of the noise stretched along the length of it, with his girlfriend tucked snugly against him.

Oddly undisturbed, Kate slept, her head on his left shoulder. His hand was wrapped over the side of her head. A bare leg rested over Richard's thighs.

"How on earth does she sleep through that?" Martha muttered as she lowered her body to the armchair. She crossed her legs right over left to pull off a heel then swapped legs to repeat the same action. All the while, she stared at her son and future daughter in law. With every inhale of oxygen, he snored. Loudly. His chest rose and fell.

The remnants of a large pizza and four empty bottles of beer were on the coffee table. Their shoes were on the floor beneath the table with Kate's dress pants.

Martha checked the time unable to believe these two reasonably young people were totally knocked out at this hour of the evening.

Then, without warning, Beckett's hand moved and she gave Rick a bit of shove into his ribs, "Castle."

The snore was disrupted. He grunted. He shifted his head, his fingers lightly caressed her hair.

"'Atta girl." Martha whispered as she stood up.

A few minutes later she was back on the armchair with a glass of rose wine and a magazine to read. The slumbering pair kept her company. Rick kept snoring.

It was almost 9.30 when Beckett pushed herself up to a sit and sleepily gazed about the room. Sleepy eyes eventually settled on Martha who lowered the magazine.

"Arr.. sleeping beauty awakes."

She smiled. "Cute. How long you been there?"

"Almost two hours. You two are so young. Why aren't you out going places?"

Kate swept back hair from her eyes, looked down at Rick who slept. Snored. She smirked, then looked to Martha, "That's because we've barely slept the last few nights. It's been exhausting."

Martha's sudden laughter was full of richness, "Oh Dear, that's what I like to hear."

"What was that?" Rick asked as his hand went to his face to rub it.

"I was telling your mom why we're not out tonight. Why we've crashed here."

Rick devilishly chuckled, "Oh heck. What a week. Hits my top five."

Kate laughed, stroked his chest, "It's been exhausting." She lowered herself to give him a kiss, then whispered, "It's been a few rough nights on my knees doing that dance."

"Oh shit." Castle said, "It's time for bed."

Martha broke into laughter again. "To sleep."

Beckett pushed herself up to a sit then climbed over Rick to get her feet to the floor. She collected the beer bottles and pizza box. "There will be nothing more than sleep going on tonight." She stated.

"You're young and vigorous." Martha replied.

Rick stood up. "Tonight, I'm not." He glanced to Beckett who quickly put away their dinner remains. He picked up their belongings from the floor as he headed to the bedroom.

"Good night mother." He called with a wave of his arm.

"Sleep tight."

Kate strolled across the living area towards the office. "See you tomorrow, Martha. Good night."

"Good night."

"I cannot believe you told my mother we have been fucking like there's no tomorrow." Castle said the moment Beckett closed the door to the bedroom. He kicked out of his jeans.

Beckett stopped, pressed her lips together then said, "I didn't tell her that, Castle." She tugged at the shirt she wore, wanting it off. "What's the big deal?" She lifted the top over her head, exposing black underwear, and tossed the garment on the armchair by her side of the bed.

"She knows we've been up all week, screwing about." He too undressed from his shirt and left it with his jeans.

"I prefer making love." Kate purred out then giggled, not missing a chance to admire his bare chest and arms.

"Really?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes. But what's the big deal?" She started towards the en suite and Rick followed.

"She's my mother?"

"So?" Beckett checked them in the large mirror, looked over her shoulder to Rick who sauntered in behind and wrapped his arms around her body.

"Do you tell your Dad about your sex life?"

She glared at Rick via the mirror and screwed up her nose with sheer disgust. "Are you fucking serious, Castle?"

"Yes."

"My Dad would have a breakdown if he heard half the stuff."

"You do know he had to do some shagging to create you."

"My point exactly. Your mom has shagged plenty too." Beckett replied, "So why can't your Mom know?"

"Why can't your Dad know?" He unhooked the bra.

They fell silent but Beckett, with pursed lips, stared him down for a second or so thinking, before she inhaled deeply. She spoke as she slipped the bra down her arms and place it on the vanity.

"I can't tell my Dad, because I don't believe he would enjoy hearing about the things I do to you, or what you like to do to me." She smiled with closed lips. "I'm also a Daddy's girl and don't want to shatter that on him."

Rick laughed, "You enjoy it too."

"Maybe." She softly replied and watched him slide his hand down her tummy and beneath the panties.

Rick grunted, then groan in approval. "I believe a little more than maybe?"

She frowned, tried to ignore what his fingers were up to. "Really? You're taking that from this whole discussion?"

"Yes." His brow furrowed as his hands moved to her hips. "No. Its not. Seriously though. Daddy's girl? Shatter that status?" He thought she was more her mother's daughter but he wasn't gonna put that out into the atmosphere.

Kate grinned and bit her lip and leaned back into him against his chest. "Of course, I am."

"Mm. I know." He momentarily reflected on the times she looked up at him, or the way she climbed upon his lap and curled up against his body seeking his security.

"How so?"

"The way you are around me at times." He humbly replied with unfiltered endearment in his tone.

She gave him a questioning glance. "Tell me."

"No." He instantly replied and waved his finger at her in the negative, "There's no way I'm giving that information away."

"I will get it out of you."

"Nope. You won't."

"Your mom, Castle."

"She could, yes." He nodded.

Beckett laughed. "No. I mean, she would be more open to talking about sex than my Dad, and she is an actress. She laughed her ass before."

"Can we talk about something else? I don't want to think about our parents and sex."

"You just brought up that it's how my father and mother created me. Our parents. They've done it at least once, Castle."

He snorted, held up his hands in defeat. "I'm out. But if you wanna talk to my Mother about girl stuff, knock yourself out, but I'm too scared to bring up the topic with your Dad." He dropped his arms. "I don't even know if he approves of me as your boyfriend. I'm just a writer."

"Rick." She inhaled and sighed, "You know he likes you." She softly said with reassurance and took off her panties she then threw in the hamper.

"We'll see," he replied. He turned on the shower faucet paying particular attention to the temperature setting.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Showers good." He said.

"Thanks." Kate stepped into beneath the flow of water.

"What about the day I go bang on his door with a ring in my pocket, a sweat on my brow, that question on my tongue?"

She turned about to face him, smirking at the image he'd put forth in her mind of him standing on her father's porch, too scare to knock. She decided to lead him on a bit. "What question?"

His blue eyes widened in surprise. "You really asking that?"

"Yes. Well, no."

"There will be the day I am there," he held up his right hand and pretended to knock on a door, "To ask Mr Beckett for permission to marry his daughter, for your hand in marriage."

She laughed at his antics, "Really? You're that traditional, Castle?"

"If course I am. Respect. To you, your father, your mother." Naked he stepped into the shower with her, but remained beneath the second shower rose.

"Shit." She put her fingers to her mouth. "Castle you are really freaking me out here."

"Keeping you on your toes?" He reached out to her hand, took a hold and gently brought her to him.

"Sending my brain spiralling out of control is a better description." She replied, snaking an arm around his neck. "So, our dominatrix murder is solved and we've had a mega sex marathon." She smiled in response to his.

"C'mere. There's still some life left in this old tiger."

She pulled herself up, closer to him, "You mother might hear us," she said only to tease him.

"Better than you telling her."

TBC


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75**

"I'm so pleased you brought your spare Glock for me to use today." Castle stated, accepting his vest from Beckett after she tugged it out of the trunk. He gazed about mainly at the entrance of Rodman's Neck Firing Range. They were well within the property, in the middle of a car park. It was quiet at 7.15 am. He'd expected the far off noise gun shots.

"No worries." She replied as she hauled her own NYPD issue vest out. It weighed more than Rick's and he saw her efforts when she heaved it up to slip her arm though the right hole. There was an urge to assist but he knew it wouldn't be appreciated if he did it at the shooting range.

Instead, he quietly asked, "You good, Beckett? Your's looks bloody heavy." He brought the vest up onto his shoulders, clipped it up firmly around his body then rubbed his palms together, considerably excited about their morning at the range.

Her eyes shot to his and she gave him a one-sided smile with a slight nod, "Yeah, thanks."

That morning, Beckett had dressed in the NYPD dark blue uniform and in heavy work boots, was shorter than normal. He'd notice earlier she had an odd stride in the work boots. Amused him. She quickly shoved a NYPD cap on her head and placed her pony tail through the hole. She also passed him one and he pulled it onto his head. Seeing how she'd dressed, he had decided to go with khaki cargo pants and a shirt.

She clipped the vest into place then quickly checked that all her equipment was attached and in the correct place. She then reached into the trunk for her gun holster she strapped around her hips. She then passed him another holster, far bigger than hers. "I borrowed this from the Captain," she stated.

"Sweet! Thanks Beckett." He grinned like a kid and immediately got to strapping it on. "That would have been embarrassing. Here, no gun."

"Mm." Beckett glanced to his chest with a coy smile, and purred out, "Writer boy."

He instantly glanced down to the word printed across his vest. He accepted the Glock, two clips and a box of bullets.

He glanced into the trunk then at the clothing she wore. "You came equipped," he commented.

"I packed when you had your extensive stay in the little boy's room at the Precinct yesterday."

"Oh." He said, "I was playing games on the phone."

"Sure. Don't let the guys heckle you in there." She ordered as she slipped her gun into the holster at her right hip.

"No. I won't." He was distracted with trying to slot the gun home in the holster.

"Hang on a sec." Kate gave the holster a nudge so it rested in the right place on his hip. "There you go." She said as the Glock was homed.

"And I anticipate you will be a good teacher, Beckett."

"Always," she replied and passed him a set of ear protectors. "You will need these."

"How did you get me in this today?"

"Captain. I asked the Captain to include you on the role."

"And he agreed."

"He enforced it. You're my partner."

"I'm not allowed to carry a gun."

"But I always carry my spare." She smiled and looked at him. "Kapeesh?"

"Got it. I will get him a bottle of bourbon."

"Here comes Ryan and Esposito." Kate waved at the Crown that pulled in beside her vehicle.

"Wonder how Ryan pulled up after his night out with his new lady, Jenny."

"About to find out."

"You know, Babe, if people knew about us we could double date with Kevin and his new girlfriend, Jenny."

"I thought about that, but I like our secret too much." She replied, then faced him. "Hey." She said to gain his full attention. He looked down at her eyes, her serious expression. "I'm gonna be tough on you here today, Castle. It's gonna be like the Captain told me you had to come with me."

He breathed in deeper, then replied, "Okay, Detective. So, there will be tension. Well, you had better do an epic job of it."

She glanced to the boys' car. They were still inside it. "You will do a great job here today." She gave his shoulder a pat. "I'm going to give you hell because I had to bring you."

He vigorously bobbed his head, "You do that. I'm gonna smash it outa the park, Beckett."

And that's exactly what Richard Castle planned to do at the firing range that morning.

Standing in line with his team, he listened intently to the instructing officer go through his routine of reminding the seasoned detectives of how to position themselves to shoot a gun. The officer took them through ground rules, safety procedures and their requirements. The police officers all knew the level they were required to perform at, and once he was through talking, Beckett, Esposito and Ryan debriefed Castle. He took in all the information like a sponge. Once they were paired off, Beckett showed Castle once how to hold the weapon, the position to stand and hold, and after she pointed to where he was to shoot, she left him alone to fire away.

Beckett, who had shot off a couple of dozen rounds into her target paused when she noticed where Rick's bullets were going. She was expecting some rough shooting, but his aim was almost perfect. Astonished, she lowered her gun and lifted the safety glasses up.

Instinctively, Rick also paused and glanced at Beckett with a smart ass smirk. She said something but his ear phones cut out of the sound of her voice. Then he lip read that she said his name and pointed at the target.

Carrying a huge grin, he nodded and gave her the thumbs up. "Beginners luck." He yelled and she immediately gave him the thumbs up right back with nod.

Somebody patted his shoulder. He spun about to find Esposito up front and centre, not a foot of space between them. The Detective lifted away Rick's right headphone as he asked, "Dude, where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

"Beckett. She's a good teacher. Point and shoot."

They laughed. Castle returned to his job. He had a box of bullets to make his way through.

"Just when I thought my day couldn't get better," Rick declared, holding up his phone to disconnect. He discarded it on the table leaned over to Beckett. He cupped her jaw, and ordered, "Kiss me."

Guarded, she glanced around them even though she knew she was in a safe place. Public displays of affection were unusual. "What is it?"

"Kiss me first," he ordered. She was out of her NYPD uniform and back in plain clothes. The purple top she had chosen to wear was cute.

"Someone might see us."

"Don't care and there is no one here who knows us."

Before she came closer to kiss him she glanced around the diner. Satisfied she gave him the kiss. "What is it?"

As he sat back on his seat he pointed at Beckett, "You are going to immortalized on the silver screen."

"How?"

"That was Paula." He tapped his phone, "My book Heat Wave has been bought to turn it into a movie."

Beckett smiled, "Actually, Nikki Heat is going to be immortalized, not me. "

Castle shrugged as he sat back on the chair, "Yes, well, technically, but it's been widely publicized that you are the inspiration." He picked up his half-eaten burger, "So, who would you like to play you in the movie?" He bit into the food and while he chewed, he waited for her to eat before she replied.

"I have no idea, Castle. Who would play Rook?"

"Easy, the guy from Firefly."

"Oh my God! Who remembers that?" She laughed, "You only want him because you resemble him."

"No. He's like me and I'm better looking."

"Keep dreaming."

"Oh, I'm dreaming. What a day. Got to play at the firing range. Impressed myself. Definitely impressed you. My book is being sold to a movie producer, you are here with me…." He smiled, especially when she blushed.

"I'm still here." She replied then smiled at him before she laughed. She glanced at the time. "We've gotta get back to the Precinct."

"I can't wait to tell the guys."

That evening, Rick sat on the couch beside his mother, two glasses of red in his hands. He passed one to his Mom, "Cheers Mother."

"Cheers, Darling."

"You look nice. Going out."

Martha nodded, glanced at her watched, "Yes. Soon. So. what happened today? Where is Katherine?"

"She's at her home. She needed to do a few things and she's a little rattled well, distracted, by a case she got today."

"Why so?"

"Well, shortly after we returned from the firing range this afternoon, Beckett got a call from a man who wanted to report a murder. Stated he was a fan of Nikki Heat."

"That would do it." Martha remarked.

"Exactly. You know she can be prickly about being my muse." He said, "So, Ryan traced the call to Grand Central Station from a phone booth. We got to the station, Beckett pushed open the booth and found a murdered man in the telephone booth."

"Poor man."

"True. His name was Alex Peterman, lived in Dobbs Ferry. personal injury attorney."

"Taking the train home?"

"Yes. And got shot making a call." Castle said, "A .45 makes a pretty loud snap, crackle and pop. I find it hard to believe no one heard it on the main concourse. Beckett did suggest the murderer must have used a suppressor and waited for the train to pass by. But I cannot accept a murder took place with no one seeing anything."

"New Yorkers would keep going, Honey."

"True, but Esposito interviewed a woman who said that she heard a loud sound around 8:45 – sounded like a car door slamming. Apparently, she saw a white male exiting the waiting room, moving very quickly to the 42nd street exit. Said he was wearing a black coat, black ball cap, sunglasses and had some sort of beard, maybe a goatee."

"Well that narrows it down for you in a sea full of Wally's." Martha finished her glass of wine.

"Agreed. Not much for us to go on right now."

"Well my Darling, I'm off to meet Chet. We are going out for dinner."

Rick took the empty glass from his Mother's hand, "Enjoy."

"You should be taking your date out. You're so young to be home."

"Worn her out Mother and I have a daughter to care for."

"Alexis can take care of herself."

"Kate's tired. So am I. We usually get a couple of days off between cases but we've gone straight into another and we were up at four thirty to go to the firing range. She has a lot of paperwork because of the back to back cases and she was doing that when I left."

"Alright. Well, I will see you in the morning, Kiddo." She gave his shoulder a pat.

There was a tap on the loft door that took Rick's attention away from the novel he was speed reading. A smile crept over his face when he checked the time. It was 9.31 pm. "Right on cue," he muttered to himself and sprang up.

When he opened the door, she was standing there, wrapped in a white puffy coat, with a pink scarf and hat. She smiled. In her gloved hand she held a long box.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Hello." He hung on the door and looked at the velvet box. "You remembered."

"It's been on my mind all day. But the case…"

"Yes. Rather distracting. Come on in." He invited.

She entered the loft and he took the overnight bag from her shoulder.

"I left work, and had to come over here. For tonight." She confessed. "I tried to pretend it wasn't important so I could focus on the case." She unwrapped the scarf then pulled off the hat, exposing her hair messy. "But it's the most important thing to me today. I woke up with you and I want to go to sleep with you today."

"Same. I understand. The case, the entire day." He briefly placed his hands on her upper arms and pressed his lips to her forehead. "My Mother has gone for the night and Alexis is studying so we have the place to ourselves." He said as he made his way to the living area.

She extracted herself from the coat that she hung in the closet then hurried after him.

"You sure you don't wanna go somewhere for supper?" Rick stopped at the table by the window.

"I want to be here with you, tonight." She said, stopping before him.

"Good. Because I got it all planned out." He reached for two champagne flutes both filled with the bubbly fluid and passed one to Kate. She accepted and placed the small box on the table.

"Okay. Well." She glanced between his eyes and the bottle on the table. "Expensive Champagne." She commented.

"For a valid reason." He took her hand in his. "So, it's been a year tonight since we went on our first date." In response, she had a bit of a dance, that amused him. "Thank you for accepting. It's been the time of my life. Happy first anniversary, Kate."

She smiled and bit her bottom lip, eyes glistening, "Best year of my life, Rick. Happy anniversary."

They held up their glasses, lightly touched them then had a sip of the sparkling wine.

"One year." Kate whispered, then stepped closer for the kiss she longed to share. She was the first to pull back moments later and touched her lips holding a quaint smile.

"What?" He asked.

"My lips tingle." she replied. She reached for the box.

"Let's move this party to the couch." Rick pointed then collected his gift.

Kate plonked herself on the couch beside Castle full of anticipation. She'd spent a lot of time thinking about what to buy him for their anniversary and one day had heard him say to someone he was keen to find a certain item. She'd found one with the help of her Dad who was also an avid collector.

"You will love this, Castle." She confidently said holding the velvet box tied with a white ribbon.

"Hope it reflects paper." He hinted.

"Kind of." She held it out for him. "Me first." She smiled, excited.

"Alrighty. Me first." He accepted the gift, "Thank you. I love it already."

She laughed, "Open it first."

With permission, he tugged at the ribbon until the bow fell away. Kate took the ribbon and discarded it on the table. He opened the box and inside it he found a pen. Instantly, he recognized it.

"You found this pen?" He looked at her smiling face and she nodded, her hands pressed together. It was obvious to Castle that his reaction to the gift was extremely important to Kate. At his understanding their relationship was the longest one she'd been a half of, that she was in fact treading in waters she'd never swam in. Back on the pen, he picked it up, felt, studied it from end to end. He softly said, "Montblanc, fountain pen. Vintage." He looked at her expectant face, "Thank you. How did you know?"

"I listen." She smiled.

"But, I didn't tell you."

"No." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek. "But, you mentioned it to someone else."

"Then we're on the same page," he said and placed his gift between them. "I did hear you, about our agreed price cap."

The shoulders dropped, "You didn't listen, Castle."

"No. Only because I found what I thought was a suitable gift for our first anniversary."

"May I open it?"

"Please." He gave her the box. Quickly, keenly, she opened the red box and peered inside it. She reached in and lifted out a paint brush taped to a small glass jar that contained a chocolate substance. Inquisitive, she read the label.

"Body paint?" She looked at him as a grin appeared. "Oh, you were so listening." She laughed recalling the night she'd suggested they should try out body paint one day.

"Save it for a special night," he replied, "That was the fun gift. Now, keep digging, Honey."

She set the box to her lap in order to look inside. It was cramped with tissue paper. "Jesus, Castle," she whispered, then did exactly what he'd instructed. Her fingers dug into the paper and felt about until she found a small square box. A squeak of delight escaped Kate, that caused Castle to laugh.

The big box was discarded on the sofa and the small box was held out. She studied the box then gave it a bit of a shake. Something inside softly clunked about. "Oh." She uttered. "What is it?"

The writer edged forward keen for her to get on with it. "Open it. C'mon already, Kate."

She opened the box. Inside, was a pearl bracelet with white gold latch.

"Oh my, Castle." She expressed in hushed tones. "It's beautiful." Hanging from her fingers she passed the bracelet to him. "Please clip it up?" She held out her left arm.

"Sure. You like it?" With expertise, he took the piece of jewelry opened the hook and wrapped it around her wrist. He connected the links then let it fall to her arm.

"Its lovely. Thank you."

"I listened." He picked up their glasses and passed one to his partner, "To one year."

They clinked glasses, "To us, Castle."

They sipped the Champaign,

Kate placed her hand to his thigh, "Now grab the bottle and let's take this party to the bedroom. I can't wait to show you what I have on underneath."

His eyes shot to her chest, "You serious?" He looked at her face. Saw the raised eyebrow. "Oh yeh. You are. Let's go."


End file.
